Man cries foul after being told he couldn’t board a women-only bus
Print Edition
AN elderly man in central China’s Henan Province was irritated when the bus he usually takes pulled over sporting a “women only” sign.
Since late April, the bus company in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou has operated summer buses for women and girls during rush hours.
Such buses are meant to reduce sexual harassment during the summer, when women often wear skimpier clothing, and to make breastfeeding mothers more comfortable, said Kong Chaoping, a representative of the bus company.
But Liu Tianhao, a man, said the “segregation” of passengers based on gender could lead to even greater negative impacts and waste of social resources.
“It’s discrimination against men to presume all of us are sexual harassers,” a person wrote on Weibo.
Public spaces for women have become increasingly visible in Chinese cities.
A shopping mall in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hunan Province, assigned 20 parking spaces near the entrance of its underground garage exclusively for female customers earlier this year.
In Shanghai, four unusually large parking spots painted pink appeared at an office building, and intercom systems for emergency calls were installed.
Despite a warm welcome from some women’s groups, others expressed dissatisfaction.
“Female drivers can back a car into a parking lot as well as their male counterparts, and I think such facilities are a gross insult to our driving skills,” someone wrote on Weibo.
Li Yinhe, Chinese sociologist, said the women-only parking spaces were unnecessary.
She said the hidden logic was that “women cannot drive as well as men,” even though the facilities were added under the guise of caring.
“Though not as serious as discrimination, women’s parking does help to strengthen the stereotype of women as bad drivers,” Li said.
“As a matter of fact, there are plenty of women with excellent driving skills.”
Some believe designating public spaces for women demonstrates courtesy and consideration.
The idea of “ladies first” should be valued in a civilized society, as women are still a vulnerable group in some ways, journalist Yang Lan said on news portal rednet.cn.
Giving women priority in certain circumstances is justified, she said.
“The ‘women only’ parking lots are not about prejudice, since they are meant to serve certain women with limited parking skills. It is up to the women themselves to decide whether to use them or not, and those who believe in their abilities are free to park their cars in a regular spot,” she said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
