I will first discuss the theoretical significance of women-only carriages in combating sexual harassment, examine the history of women-only carriages in Japan, and analyze Japanese women's perceptions of t hose carriages in light of sociological research. In this research, I am studying the reality of women-only metro carriages in Japan. Additionally, the case analysis of the women-only carriages in Japan can provide suggestions for the future management in China, based on the similarity between Japanese and Chinese societies. Since the freedom of movement largely influences the employment and other activities, understanding potential meanings of this policy in a gender culture is also crucial to raising women's well-bein g in transportation, employment, and possibly the level of gender equality. The public responses on this issue represent different perceptions of safety and gender as a unique cultural phenomenon worth exploring. Others, however, such as Japan, are not known for the obvious violence, yet strong support from either public or government is given to this special transport, which implies that it may have more to do with how people feel about sex segregation, public safety, and gender equality rather than with only the sexual risks.
The lack of social consensus on this policy leads us to question: what does the women-only carriage mean in a gender culture?Īmong the list of countries that have the carriages, some of them like Egypt and Iran have well-known problems with sexual assault and even violent aggression on women. There were even more men than women in some women-only carriages, which turned out to be an irony. The policy met more surprising problems in practice- just a week after being introduced, " priority carriag es for women" set up on several Shenzhen subway lines have been taken over by the male commuters either ignoring or not noticing the signs. This latest policy has ignited heated debates in China on whether it really protects the women or discriminates either gender. The most recent case started in June 2017, when the government of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, two mega-cities in so uth China, created "women-only subway carriages" aimed at protecting pregnant women and young children, as well as lessening the threat of sexual assault" ( Shanghaiist ). They have or had been offered on some trains in Japan, India, Egypt, Iran, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates ( Gekoski 44 ).
The women-only carriages have been implemented around the globe and their contested meanings are intensely discussed. Woolf may not have imagined that one hundred years later women around the world would waver over whether to demand their exclusive spaces in the public sphere. When Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One's Own, the self-defined space symbolizes privacy, promotes equality and empowers women.
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