Rio Adopts Women-Only Subway Cars (Reuters) Updated: 2006-04-27 16:16
|
A scene of
sexual harassment in subway from Korean movie "Sex is
Zero. | Women commuters filled female-only,
pink-striped subway cars in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Monday on
the first day of a scheme to avert groping and other unwanted sexual advances.
A law passed by the state legislature and signed by Rio Gov. Rosinha Matheus
last month obliged the underground Metro and above-ground railways to have
separate passenger cars for women during the weekday rush hours.
"It's the first day today and we had women applauding when men, who had
entered their carriage without knowing about the rule, got off," a spokeswoman
for the private Metro Rio company said.
Frequent complaints from women commuters about sexual harassment in crowded
railway cars had prompted state legislators to pass the bill.
One car in every of Metro Rio's 33 trains is marked with pink stripes on
doors and windows. The company said female passengers would themselves control
men's entry into the cars, seeking the help of security guards if necessary.
Railroad company Supervia, which serves Rio and its suburbs, identifies its
female-only cars with signs similar to those on women's restrooms.
Men won't be barred from the female-only cars during an initial phase but
after that railroad police would enforce the new rule, a Supervia spokesman
said.
Rio joins Tokyo and Mexico City as major cities that provide female-only
train cars.
|