Should Women-Only Subway Carriages Be Introduced?

Guangzhou， capital of south chinas Guangdong Province， stirred up much public debate recently after it began to operate womenonly carriages on June 28.

As a pilot operation， one carriage on every train operating on subway line 1 was re- served for women during rush hours from 7：30 to 9：30 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. on weekdays， according to Guangzhou metro. other than these hours， they are used as normal.

the practice was adopted following suggestions from a group of political advisors. they proposed the measure to protect vulnerable women from congested traffic and harassment during rush hours.

the local police department said 74 sexual harassment cases had been filed at the Guangzhou subway since 2015.

supporters of the initiative say that offering preferential treatment to women is respectful to and aims to protect them. opponents argue that the move will not make womens commuting experience more comfortable or safe， but will deteriorate traffic congestion in subways.

PRO

Hu Yinbin Guancha.gmw.cn

Respecting women and caring for vulnerable people including females， seniors and children has been a widely-adopted international practice. Isnt it a common phenomenon that women are unable to board the subway or are harassed by gropers when the carriages are packed like sardines？ I dont think there is anything wrong with the transportation system offering certain limited privileges to women. Caring and respecting women are not empty talks， but requires concrete deeds.

Civilization， virtues， even the quality of public life in a society can be seen through facilities for vulnerable groups， like nurseries and women-only security check corridors. In terms of crowded subways， it may be impossible to take good care of every woman， but at least the transportation system can offer certain conveniences like an exclusive carriage.

Such a move will bring no adverse effects. Considering the current institution， technology and conditions， it is not a hard job to offer some womenonly carriages on subway lines. Even if there are expenses， the public service providers should assume these. When examining whether a society is advanced or civilized， we should look at its capability and willingness to attend to special needs of vulnerable groups.

I think it is a strange logic to regard offering preferential treatment as a kind of discrimination. Actually， the more such “discrimination，” the more civilized a society is. In terms of the privileges women enjoy， there are too few rather than too many. Taking sexual harassment prevention as an example， laws were introduced to prohibit the offence in 2005， but they didnt define sexual harassment from a legal aspect， thus leading to difficulties in punishing offenders.

It is an arduous and longterm task to protect and respect women. Setting up women-only carriages will facilitate the group to ride subways and create an atmosphere of respecting females， advancing the society to progress day by day in the long run.

CON

Liu Tianfang Media commentator

I think the harms of introducing such carriages for women outweigh its merits.

First， it goes against the modern principle of gender equality， and implicitly advocates the dross of traditional values that men and women should maintain a proper distance from each other. Civilizations advance rather than retreat. Setting up womenonly carriages， in effect， turn women against men. Separating women in a comfortable zone is pushing them into an even more vulnerable position. We cannot hold every man accountable for the existence of sexual harassment in public places like the subway.

Second， it is rare to impose man-made obstacles on public places between men and women， except for a few countries like Japan， India and Brazil. In India， women-only carriages failed to protect women from sexual assaults， let alone harassment. Third， segregating women is not the way to curb groping. The fundamental solution is severe punishment and zero tolerance for offenders. In some countries like France， offenders of sexual harassment face a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

To curb groping or sexual harassment， more measures should be taken outside metro carriages. While promoting etiquette among the public， more severe punishment should be introduced instead of segregating men and women.

CON

Wei Wei Social media user

Women-only carriages discriminate against females in the name of protecting them. Undeniably， such an exclusive space will make women feel safer， but it brings about bigger problems， which are deteriorating traffic congestion during rush hours and putting females in a more jeopardized position.

Stopping sexual harassment by segregating females from males is similar to keeping dogs from hurting people by caging them. The logic here is questionable. Moreover， with such carriages in place， if women were groped when riding other carriages， would the public blame them for inviting the harassment because they were supposed to use womenonly carriages？ The answer is mostly yes.

Many justify womenonly carriages with Japans case， where the practice has been adopted for over 100 years. However， the fact is that the first women carriages were set up in 1912 because men discriminated against women and would not share rides with them. Exclusive space was only created to prevent women from sexual harassment in 2000. The move has been clouded in controversy since the beginning. Groping cases increased by at least five-fold with the introduction of the carriages.

All in all， the intention is good， but it is not a fundamental solution and will intensify the stereotype of women as a vulnerable group， making them more afraid of defending themselves when becoming victims. The move is unfair to males as it regards every man as a potential offender of sexual harassment and exacerbates crowding in subways.

PRO

Li Shenmiao Shenzhen Evening News

Anyone who has squeezed themselves into subway carriages know what a tough job it is. There is no doubt that women， who are physically weaker than men， can not compete with them in this regard. The stronger people win under such circumstances. Even if they managed to get on board， they may encounter inconveniences and potential harassments in such packed spaces， where groping or sexual harassment is more likely to happen.

Offering preferential treat- ment to vulnerable people is one of the people-oriented approaches in city governance and should be promoted. Problems may arise from this initiative， but it is a gesture that society is willing to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.

PRO

She Zongming Media commentator

Admittedly， the carriages will not root out sexual harassment on the subway， but it buys time to find a fundamental solution. In this sense， I applaud it.

It is a practical and implementable protective measure for females， who easily become victims of groping， considering crowded spaces in subway and their physical vulnerability. Although there are reports claiming that cases of sexual harassment didnt reduce but increased after the introduction of women-only carriages in Japan， the causality is only hypothetical and needs to be verified.

Opponents argue that the move is discriminating against both men and women. It makes no sense. Introducing womenonly carriages doesnt mean forbidding females from riding other carriages or resulting in the absence of laws to protect females from sexual harassment.

CON

Na Wu South Metropolis Weekly

I dont think it is reasonable to set up exclusive carriages for women. Any feminist with self-esteem will refuse others to regard them as vulnerable as children or seniors， and require any preferential treatment because of this.

Even if I agreed women should be given such treatment， I dont think one carriage would set them free from the unpleasantness of pushing and squeezing. In any bustling metropolis with a dense population， crowded public transportation， espe- cially on subway lines， is a headache during rush hours. No public transportation could fulfill the needs of spending less while gaining convenience and comfort at the same time. If you want the latter， you can take a taxi but pay a higher price. Whether there is women-only carriages or not， riding the subway would be no easy experience during rush hours. The existence of such a carriage also reduces the number of carriages available for other passengers and thus worsens congestion. Besides， one carriage is not enough to hold all female passengers. Those who fail to ride on women exclusive ones have to fight even harder for a space in other carriages.