Fighting sexual harrassment: Nepal's women-only buses
Nepalese government has started female-only buses in Khatmandu to fight against sexual harassment on public transport.
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Nepalese females can now take women-only buses in Kathmandu as the government tries to fight sexual harassment and groping on public transport.
Four 16-seat buses will take women across a popular east-west route, and if the initiative proves successful the government plans to add more.
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While there are no official sexual assault statistics in Nepal, police say reports of violence against women have almost quadrupled as the country sees increased awareness of gender crimes.
"There were complaints that women are facing groping and sexual harassment while travelling in crowded buses," said Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, a senior transport ministry official.
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| Suraj Shrestha, the conductor of a women-only bus, is pictured standing at the bus door as he waits for female passengers. |
The buses will initially have male drivers and only one female would be serving as a conductor. While authorities want to hire more female drivers and conductors, they say they are hard to come by.
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Female commuters in Kathmandu have welcomed the move.
"It is safer as well as more comfortable, but the buses must also run when it gets dark and when it is difficult for women to travel," said 17-year-old student Parbati Gurung.
Gurung’s views echo those of most females in the world’s 15 largest capitals who said in a recent survey that they would feel safer in single-sex-areas whilst taking buses and trains.
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Inside a women-only bus, pictured above, someone scrawled the words "Seats Reserved for Women".
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Comments (26) Closed
Jan 10, 2015 02:47pm
Good step; much appreciated. World "Rights Groups" and "west" may not like it; terming it against basic rights of men.
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Jan 10, 2015 06:08pm
This is a natural way to protect womenfolk, not only in third world countries but also in developed world. In Japan, Osaka authorities have introduced women’s only carriages for its train system.
Similarly, lately in the UK, the government poll known as YouGov with the help of Thomson Reuters Foundation have found that many London women commuters feel unsafe and a total of 45% of women in London would like some Tube carriages (underground train) to be set aside for women only.
We also know how women are harassed in our public transport. How educated and cultured one becomes, there will always be perverts preying on vulnerable victims.
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Jan 10, 2015 08:39pm
I hope Pakistani Government is reading this article. We need the same in Pakistan.
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Jan 10, 2015 09:05pm
There are many Only Women Bus running in Bhopal.
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Jan 10, 2015 10:49pm
Wouldn't it be better to teach men to respect women and keep they groping hands to themselves?
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Jan 10, 2015 11:04pm
What about the "Ladies Specials" run everyday in Indian cities. This as been happening for over 30 years in Delhi at least.
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Jan 11, 2015 02:06am
This is a temporary solution - how long can they keep the genders separate and apart from each other and in how many places? I am sure if the penalties were stiff, the offenders will think twice before committing the offense. How about plain clothes police be riding these buses randomly and if they catch any perpetrators, they can arrest them. If they continue to have separate buses, would the next step be separate schools/colleges/universities, separate shopping centers for men and women, etc. etc. etc.
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Jan 11, 2015 04:36am
"It is safer as well as more comfortable" and easier to breath
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Jan 11, 2015 05:28am
Who are the driver-conductor?
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Jan 11, 2015 07:20am
A step in the right direction.
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Jan 11, 2015 08:48am
@Riaz well said !
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Jan 11, 2015 10:53am
Neighboring countries such as India and Nepal are doing excellent in order to curb the violence against women. India too have similar buses and special train coaches only for women. India also have women train. Pakistan should learn something from Nepal and India and bring strong laws against violence against Women. Women rights should be given to muslim women in Pakistan.
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Jan 11, 2015 11:07am
@sm, are you out of your mind, this will be pushing women against the wall. Keeping women separate from men is not the solution.
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Jan 11, 2015 12:27pm
respectful initiative taken by government
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Jan 11, 2015 12:29pm
a very good initiative taken by Government. I hope Pakistan will do same
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Jan 11, 2015 04:33pm
In mumbai since long they already have special local trains and buses for women only - during peak hours.
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Jan 12, 2015 04:17am
Woman-only train carriages and buses basically shows that the society has failed to civilize a significant section of its me at least regarding attitudes towards woman. This sort of approaches are band aids and denotes failures in other areas.
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Jan 12, 2015 08:10am
Ladies special buses runs in Delhi (DTC) since mid 70s.
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Jan 12, 2015 12:56pm
Though this kind of actions are required in these times but these are not permanent solutions.
We need to build up the the Moral characters of our selves first then our Children .
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Jan 12, 2015 08:16pm
Particularly in Islamic society it is an absolute necessity.
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Jan 13, 2015 10:27am
@sm we have separate compartments for ladies from the start...don't criticize just for the sake of criticizing ...
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Jan 13, 2015 05:51pm
Not a correct step certainly. The best way to banish the problem of disrespecting women (including rape, groping) will be to introduce co-education from nursery standard to university and co-existence of men and women in all levels of social arena. Not exclusiveness, but inclusive existence is the answer to this menace.
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Jan 13, 2015 07:05pm
A step in the right direction. It is stop-gap measure , but not a permanent solution. Women/girls should be empowered and take charge. They should travel in groups of four and more together in the same bus and have readily accessible spray that stings when comes in contact with open skin.
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Jan 14, 2015 09:06am
you dont want to teach men to respect women, which is the root cause
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Jan 14, 2015 01:02pm
Gender based segregated transport facilities are just as important in ultra conservative, less educated and overly populated South Asian countries as it is to have segregated restroom facilities.
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Jan 14, 2015 01:09pm
It is good step, but when humans will learn to behave. Exclusion of women is not the solution of everything, that buses, offices, schools, universities each place could be separate for women and men. Ultimately, men and women have to share and live together in society so better people behave, stay in their limits and don't show their nature publicly.
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