Blog 11

Recently, I heard a news story on the radio about how in Seoul, South Korea there are going to be new women only subway cars starting in 2008. When you first hear that, you probably automatically think it sounds incredibly sexist, but not according to government officials there. They say it is to protect women. Why do women need this protection, you might ask. Well, because it is apparently fairly common for women to be groped or accosted by males on the subway so they need this type of “protection.”

I don’t really think this can be considered protection – and neither do many of the women in Seoul. This separate subway cars thing is pretty controversial because many women, and I think rightly so, think that to separate women is discrimination. I have to wonder how anyone can think that the solution to the problem would be to segregate women. Why not go after the men who commit the crimes? By separating women from the men, it’s as if they’re blaming the women. It’s like saying men can’t help themselves because women are somehow provoking the men.

What makes the whole thing particularly interesting is that in Seoul there is a law that says women are equal and have to be treated so, but yet, this is going to happen. I’ve done some searching online to find out more details because I wonder about something. I wonder if it will be mandatory or voluntary to ride in these cars. Either way though, I don’t think it should be happening. Officials should be cracking down on this crime by going after the perpetrators so that the men are held accountable for their criminal actions.