Women-only carriages -are they a good idea?
In countries such as Japan, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brazil, women have been subjected to so much groping and manhandling on packed commuter trains that the rail companies have introduced women-only carriages to ensure women can travel unmolested. The latest city to implement this measure is Jakarta in Indonesia, where women had begun to avoid trains during the rush hour.
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Although the railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia had not received a great deal of complaints about sexual harassment on their trains, they had noticed that many women were avoiding crowded trains.
They decided to rectify this situation by emulating the model set by Japan and they introduced women-only carriages at the front and rear of their trains.
There are currently 20 of these carriages in service and the company hope to add more over the next three months.
The carriages are working so far as one female commuter claimed.
She said: "I feel respected. As you may be aware, sexual harassment took place on packed trains."
While this scheme resolves the problem of women being molested on trains, it does not make any effort to fix the root of the problem. In fact, it almost seems to send the message that it is OK for men to grope women in mixed-sex carriages.
If a woman mistakenly boards a mixed-sex carriage, is she openly inviting men to grope her? Are men so sexually depraved that they must be kept separate from women?
Do you think single-sex carriages on trains are a good way to protect women or are they sending out the wrong message to men? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
