Comments on: Ladies specials: female-only trains in India

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:16:20 +0000

Unfortunately, the west isn’t that far ahead of this problem. I’ve had enough experience on public transit to know that this behaviour is happening here. Grabby hands and inappropriate catcalls are not limited to India and Mexico. However, I found when I responded, I looked like the bad guy. @@

By: dasha

dasha — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:42:45 +0000

Michele- i like it!

I also think that this is a bit like the attempts to segregate glbt children into their own schools. Yes, both groups face violence and need protection, but removing them from general society only puts the problem out of sight and out of mind, even further “othering” them. I hope a public education program like the Mexicans have used makes a debut in India, and Egypt. Heck, I doubt there’s a country that couldn’t benefit from it.

I’ve known friends who were sexually harassed on the subway, and had a man stalk me, trying to do who knows what. It is so infuriating. These perverted men should be restricted (and punished)–not their victims. When a child is beaten up on the playground, does the teacher ban her/him to play inside, or put the aggressors in detention? Single out the people causing the problem, not the victims!

There is a great American blog/web page, where women can post pictures from their phones of cat-callers and worse offenders. I don’t remember the name… It’s led to some arrests.

By: Alara Rogers

Alara Rogers — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:23:28 +0000

I see value in this, but I think there would be even more value in hiring train conductors who are trained in a “zero tolerance” policy, where any man seen or heard harassing women is thrown off the train. While physical groping is hard to catch under crowded conditions, it’s easy to spot who’s responsible for verbal harassment. Men being forced to disembark at the next stop regardless of where they bought a ticket to would curtail a lot of the behavior, I think. And on trains this is more feasible than on buses; commuter trains usually have a conductor who goes up and down the aisles taking tickets anyway.

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:59:11 +0000

I would surmise that there will be limited service on these women-only trains, further reducing a woman’s ability to travel freely. And those women who cannot meet the travel schedule imposed upon them will be forced to travel on the mixed trains, with even fewer women around for support. Not the solution. How about putting all the MEN on one train and let the women have their pick of all the rest?

By: fauzia

fauzia — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:42:17 +0000

They have a similar thing in Cairo–a women’s only subway car, which I can definitely say helps out with the harassment issues.

By: ABF

ABF — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:18:39 +0000

This is great to know and I do hope that this is just a step in the right direction. Hopefully Indian will compliment a long-term solution to sexual harassment on public transport.

By: lilacsigil

lilacsigil — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:49:29 +0000

I was really pleased to see that the article identified the issue as one of public harrassment of women linked to their workforce participation and an attempt by resentful men to control women’s behaviour. Far too often, articles like this focus on the victims’ behaviour/dress/class/job (or on people of colour being uncilivised, as if the same thing didn’t happen everywhere) rather than on the cause of the problem. It was strangely refreshing.