After Banning Uber, Delhi Authorities Plan to Train Women Cab Drivers

The Delhi Police announced Monday that the department will train low-income women to drive taxis around the city. The announcement closely follows the city government's ban on Uber following rape accusations against one of its drivers, and right before the December 16 anniversary of the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student in 2012.

In partnership with existing private cab companies, the new initiative is intended to help put "for-women-by-women" taxis—which are not new to Delhi but have had trouble staying afloat—back on the road. It's also being billed as a way to help more women who need jobs to get them. Both are admirable goals, to be sure. But much like the women-only compartments found in the Delhi metro system, this latest effort to make India's capital safer for women is an imperfect and impermanent one.