Groping In Japan Leads To Women-Only Subway Car

[PsychoDad]

OSAKA, Japan -- A Japanese subway line is responding to increasing complaints that women passengers are regularly being groped on train cars.

The most-crowded subway in Japan's second-largest city of Osaka has decided to offer women-only cars all day long. The line has designated one car on each of its trains as off-limits to men during the morning rush hour since last November.

More here at:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2542557/detail.html

[emad]

1. Not surpirsed. In Iran, they've just set up a women-only taxi

service, women driving women, in the holy city of Qom:

<snip>:

Iran's holiest city now has a woman-only taxi service, which its founders say is striking a blow for female rights.There is a very Iranian flavour to the business. In the heat of Qom's midday sun the taxi driver is likely to be dressed in a black cloak from head to toe. The Nesa taxi service was launched 10 months ago with 10 drivers and became the first all-woman taxi service in Iran. Based in Qom, they carry only women and pre-pubescent boys.

"Women in Qom have less opportunities than in other cities and they had no public role in day-to-day city life," said Nayereh Aghaz, founder of the firm. She argues that the company does more than provide a service, but also promotes the rights of women in Qom.The process has not been trouble free. Until a month ago, the company was allowed to employ only married women at least 23 years old who wear the Islamic chador, the black flowing robe. "We have been given permission by the local council to employ needy single drivers," said Aghaz, "particularly those who must work."

The company hires women needing financial aid or who must provide a family income. There was some shock among men when the service opened, Aghaz said, but that is changing."The men's monopoly in our religious city is beginning to end and they have seen that we are not just housewives," she said. "Now I have men calling us regularly wanting their wives to use our service." Since the opening of Nesa other cities have followed suit.Unlike some other Islamic countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, women are allowed to drive in Iran.

<snip>

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/11/wnobel211.xml

[Throckmorton]

2. What if the groper is female?

Does that ever happen, Ive never heard of it, but I guess it's possible?

[7th_Sephiroth]

3. in that case

webcams will be installed every 3 inches

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Groping in Japan

One reason it has been a problem is that women's magazines there traditionally told their readers that if they got groped on the subway they should get up and move and not make a fuss, because that would embarrass the groper! Of course, on a Japanese subway at rush hour, you cannot move.

I was groped exactly once, 25 years ago during my student days, and I resorted to the very un-Japanese tactic of stomping down hard on the guy's foot. Other Western women reported that they slapped or kneed their groper.

As a result, Western women are rarely groped. I guess the word has gotten around among the groper community.

But I've seen signs of change. About ten years ago, young women began writing in to magazines asking why they had to put up with this treatment. I began hearing of cases in which young women started yelling "chikan!" (lech) when groped and reporting the culprits to the subway employees.

But there was a pop culture backlash. When I lived in Portland, I used to rent video tapes of Japanese TV programs, and there was a noticeable number of story lines or subplots about false accusations of subway groping.