The frontrunner for Labour Leadership, Jeremy Corbyn, has come up with an idea to combat sexual harassment of women on public transportation: women-only carriages. Separate travelling arrangements would be set up for the female population. Corbyn argues that women should not have to mould their lives around the harassers or live in constant fear of being harassed. Instead of choosing longer routes or entirely avoiding certain modes of transport, why not just form completely separate arrangements?
Women are finding it harder to deal with the daily groping by strangers. Sexual harassment on trains and tubes have risen by a staggering 25 percent. With women-only carriages, women will feel a little safer, even though it is just a short term solution. Corbyn also stated that he intended to open a 24 hour hotline for distressed women who can report assaults and harassments. With 64 percent of women reporting feeling unsafe while travelling at night, perhaps it is time to take drastic actions and introduce the initiative of carriages for women only. Women and children travelling late should be able to have the confidence of boarding the train without worrying whether the stranger staring at them is dangerous or not.
It should be noted that Corbyn’s idea isn’t a new one. ‘Ladies Only’ compartments were introduced in 1874 by the Metropolitan Railway. It didn’t catch on as expected though, and eventually the compartments were being assigned on a reservation basis. It was not until 1977 that they were officially abolished.
Leery critics of the idea point out that the rising sexual harassment of women isn’t going to be solved overnight by introducing ‘pink carriages’. The issue is societal, and it calls for changes in the mentalities of the perpetrators of the crime. Women are more likely to be harassed by someone they know than by a stranger. Female-only spaces will only accentuate the fear of being harassed – a feeling of fear will begin prevailing in the society. Instead of focusing on separating the women, people should also emphasise on the importance of men lowering their gazes and keeping their hands to themselves. Until women are viewed as more than objects of sexual gratification, matters will not improve and separating them from the men may even frustrate the other gender further. People can be assigned for patrol duties of all carriages to ensure the safety of the passengers. Women’s environments must not be limited. It is the men who should be taught to stop degrading them.
Other countries that are currently practising this idea are: India, Japan, Thailand, Iran, Indonesia and Mexico.
Corbyn intends to implement the idea only if it garners support from the women. Let’s hope we can make the right decision.
Kluchit Staff
Neeshay Imran
