“Guard against groping!” read the first half of a Tencent News headline earlier this week. Instead of transitioning into an awkward public service announcement, however, the article went on to explain that Guangzhou will soon introduce female-priority cars on the metro.
This might sound familiar, as just one week ago, the Shenzhen subway system announced it would set aside special cars for women in an effort to lower incidences of sexual harassment, especially during the metro’s peak hours.
Both the Shenzhen and Guangzhou subway systems credit Su Zhongyang, a provincial official and chairman of a Guangzhou company, with conceiving the idea.
Su claims that given existing traffic conditions, ‘collision’ among passengers on the metro is inevitable and too much physical contact can make people feel embarrassed. He personally hopes his family has the option of riding a ‘female-priority’ car in the near future.
Su may have a point about the crowds
Though the gender-specific subway cars are primarily intended for women, men will still be allowed to board if there is adequate room. At this time, the concept is still being tested, and will not necessarily become a permanent feature of South China’s metro systems.
Earlier this week, reporters from the Southern Metropolis Daily randomly questioned metro passengers in Guangzhou about their thoughts on the new female-priority subway cars.
Everyone they spoke to expressed support for the initiative, saying it would be “more convenient” for both women and men, as well as those traveling with children.
When we included a survey on this very issue in our post last week, however, 58 percent of you, our readers, thought female-priority subway cars are not a good idea.
Is there a better alternative to lower the chance of sexual harassment on the metro? We'd like to hear your thoughts. Feel free to sound off in the comment section below.
[Cover image via abbao, second image via 51camel.com]
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