According to the New York Times, the new compartments installed on about 30 trains were instantly met with some disapproval. Opponents argued the cabins discriminate against men, but rail spokesman Petr Stahlavsky told the Times the changes are based on “Western European and Christian traditions.” He added, “This is not any discrimination but social and cultural tradition.”
As it turns out, these types of cabins are not so uncommon. The company said it was modeling its new compartments after the Austrian system, but women-only cabins have already taken off in at least a half-dozen countries including Japan, Egypt, Iran, Brazil and India.[...]
Though men aren’t banned from sitting in the new the six-seater Ladies Compartments on Prague’s trains, women will have priority seating and can ask men to leave if they don’t want to share the space with a Y chromosome. If successful, Czech Railways hopes to continue with plans to roll out 80 more similar compartments by the summer.
Women-only train compartments dont exist in any western country with a functional constitution.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison with austrian women-only compartments as stated in the article is not correct.
In austrian trains the separated women-only compartments are not on a legal basis. Consequently an man entering such a compartment cant be removed forcefully or fined. It is completely volunteer on male passengers to respect this rule.
However, women-only compartments constitute a severe discrimination based on an inherent characteristic of a person such as gender, race, or color of skin.
Such a compartment declares the collective of male passengers as dangerous. Besides offending the austrian constitutional laws it violates the antistereotyping law of the European Union. As far as I know, czech republic belongs to the EU too.
In addition, women-only compartments in austrian trains are offered only in the 2. class, not in the 1. class. Why?
Because its not only a discrimination based on gender but also on social class. The existence of such compartments stereotypes men who cant afford a ticket to the 1. class as criminals.
Such a development is dangerous and legal action against should be made soon before it spreads to other parts of life such as women-only hotel floors, women-only restaurants...."We dont serve niggers here" was written on restaurants in good old Texas still in the 1960s.
For certain train companies it seems that men travelling in the 2. class are the niggers of the 21. century.