Mexico City bus system promotes gender inequality

Jacie Williams

A short article in USA Today caught my attention the other day. It was an article on segregation.

It is not the kind of segregation that we, being raised in the South, often think about. This particular article dealt with the new bus policy found in Mexico City, which allows for a bus specifically for women.

Because of molestation and harassment women receive while on the regular bus routes, the city decided that segregation would be the best way to help solve a problem that they found otherwise insolvable.

From all the blogs, articles and forums I have read, the majority of the women seem to approve of this new system. Mexico City has had women-only subway cars during rush hour for some time now.

According to USA Today's article "Mexico City debuts women-only buses," the problem with normal subway cars were that the majority of commuting women were riding the overly crowded buses, where they had no protection from sexual predators.

Although there are only three routes with the women-only buses, Mexico City plans to add 15 more by April.

It is great that the city is being proactive about protecting their women, but they could be going about it in a better manner than segregation.

First, it is sexist against the men of Mexico City. The buses for women have ample seating while the men still have to squeeze into overly crowded buses.

By adding more buses to existing routes and improving the transportation system in general, I think the problem could start to diminish on its own.

With more space on all the buses, there would be less of an opportunity to "bump" into a woman accidentally or intentionally.

Having a segregated bus system will not make the problem go away. It only makes it less apparent. The best way to combat sexual harassment is education.

Mexico City should inform women about their rights not to be harassed. Education on how to handle sexual assault would empower women not to tolerate it.


Source: http://media.www.reflector-online.com/media/storage/paper938/news/2008/02/01/Opinion/Mexico.City.Bus.System.Promotes.Gender.Inequality-3181912.shtml

Other article with the same topic:

Ethan Arpi

Following the lead of Tokyo, where the subway has implemented female-only cars so that women can avoid the unwanted gaze or grope of overly-aggressive men, Mexico City has now introduced buses reserved exclusively for women. “One time a man stuck his hand up my skirt. They grab your butt … It’s gross,” Lourdes Zendejas, a female bus-commuter told Reuters. The new buses are emblazoned with pink “women only” signs on the exterior to warred off any confused man who wants to hitch ride. According to Carlos Cervantes, the spokesman for Mexico City’s bus system, sexual harassment has been an ongoing problem for female passengers who have suffered a variety of indignities merely for having an extra X chromosome while riding the bus. “We were constantly receiving complaints of women being leered at, kissed or followed,” he told Reuters.

It’s a nice step, especially for making public transportation accessible to everyone in a city where over 60 percent of the population travels by some type of bus.


Source: http://df.thecityfix.com/mexico-city-launches-grope-free-women-only-buses/