like autos buses and taxis with 30 saying they have been overcharged thirtynine per cent faced refusals while 17 said they faced rude behaviour while more than half the women 51 said commuting in own transport was the best 24 preferred travelling in buses which is substantially higher than those who felt the metro was the best 16 autorickshaws came a poor fourth with taxis at the bottom of the rung security in local trains need to be beefed up the survey revealed as many as 77 of the respondents said police protection was needed threefourths believed women police should be travelling in plainclothes while 77 called for a direct helpline for emergencies on trains more than half of the respondents said male passengers on local trains should get involved to ensure safer commuting for womenat the workplace while the largest percentage of women surveyed were unemployed or homemakers 24 13 worked in offices working from home doesnt seem to have caught on in kolkata as yet with just 3 doing it nine per cent were selfemployed just 4 manage a business and 7 were engaged in parttime jobsat home women in kolkata didnt feel discriminated against when it came to money and property but they were yet to be allowed the freedom to choose their lifepartners or hang out with friends more than half said their parental property has been equally divided between siblings and 67 said they did not feel discriminated against an impressive 61 said they have had the same education as their brothers but when it came to the freedom to marry according to their will 58 said they did not have it fiftyfive per cent said they did not have the freedom to roam freely the citys married women still carried the burden of housework with 57 saying they did most of the household chores a mere 26 said husbands shared the workmoney matters financial independence doesnt necessarily signify that they had the freedom to handle their money just 10 of the women took big investment decisions while 24 said their husbands did it for them fiftynine per cent however said they took investment decisions jointly with their husbands as many as 56 said they have a joint account besides a separate account of their own nearly fourfifths said their husbands earned more than themhealth habits kolkata women were happy with the way their health matters were dealt with at home they also enjoyed the freedom to decide when to start a family nearly threefourths said they dont feel discriminated against when it comes to healthcare expenses eightysix per cent said the decision to have a kid was taken jointly with their husbands while 5 said their husbands took the decision 8 said they had decided independently when it came to birthcontrol kolkata women enjoyed enough freedom as well fortythree per cent said the method of contraception was decided upon jointly with their husbands twelve per cent chose their own method of contraception with just