On Gender segregated transit
Today, The Atlantic explores 100 years of Japanese transit gender segregation:
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan’s first women-only trains. The idea, back in 1912, was to spare young women the indignity of being ogled by admiring men.
Over the course of the century Japan’s women-only trains were discontinued and resurrected several times until they were at last fully restored in late 2000. At that time, the term sekuhara – ‘sexual harassment’ – had become a bit of buzzword in the Japanese media, as stories of just how often most women were subjected to public groping began to receive more attention.
“I’ve been groped on the train, and I don’t want that to happen again,” she says.
Japan is not the only country to offer women-only transportation. Cities in Indonesia, India, Brazil, and Russia operate similar programs, while women-only buses have gained popularity in cities in Guatemala, Mexico, and most recently, Pakistan.
Strikingly, the article makes no mention of Isreal.