Malaysia is launching “ladies-only” cars on the KTM Komuter train for the Sentul-Port Klang route. Naturally there are pink stickers and banners to designate the cars as ones that are “Ladies only at all times.” And unsurprisingly, this new initiative is in response to men sexually harassing women on the train.
Segregation on public transportation is not a novel idea. In fact it’s becoming a worn out one. Let’s place the blame and the action on the perpetrators, not the women who are the targets! So here are some novel ideas, brought to you by me, off of the top of my head:
- Bar men who harass women from riding the trains.
- Give men who harass women citations and make them sit in men-wh0-harass-women cars.
- Give all women who ride the train mace to use on men who harass them.
In all seriousness though, check out the subway anti-sexual harassment campaigns occurring in Chicago, NYC, and Boston, which do not place the blame or the onus to avoid harassment on women. Let’s have more of that!
