MEXICO CITY – Women-only subway carriages are something that we, in our home countries of the UK and Colombia, are not used to seeing. For us, this concept, which we first experienced in Mexico City, was a new approach to handle the problem of harassment on public transport.
Mexico City introduced their women-only carriages in 1970, just one year after the subway itself opened.
According to a June 2024 report on National Public Radio, the women-only carriages were first implemented in lines one and three, but officially expanded to all trains when the policy was implemented by Mexico City’s Collective Transport System in 2002.
The attempt to target the high levels of harassment women experienced on public transport has had mixed reviews – and we agree.
Gemma’s perspective
Once I knew we would be commuting in a women-only carriage, I felt more at ease with traveling in a foreign country. With only mixed public transport in the UK, I was no stranger to the antisocial behavior – frequently by men – that can accompany journeys.
Intoxication, arguments, loud music and – most commonly – ‘man-spreading’ were all behaviors that did not appear in the carriage during our time on the Mexico City trains. With the threat of harassment dispelled immediately, it was particularly refreshing to enjoy a peaceful, albeit crowded, carriage without antisocial behavior.
Despite the welcome change, I found it strange that there were no doors separating the carriages inside. For such a clear purpose, the lack of a door felt like a careless oversight. I noticed this particularly when a man entered our carriage from another one.
The fact that we had only ridden the subway a few times and already its purpose had been undermined suggested that while the carriage was well-intentioned, it still needed improvements.
The well-meaning effort was therefore marred by this flaw and left me wondering how serious the intentions and efforts behind these carriages really were.
Holly’s perspective
Using public transport in a foreign country is something that leaves me apprehensive. After a bad experience where I was harassed and groped on a subway in a different country, I have tried to stay away from public transport in foreign countries. Having the option of riding a women-only carriage made me feel instantly calmer and like my safety was a priority here.
I was able to stand and look out of the windows at the city’s passing view without having to worry about whether I was standing in a position that made it easy for people to touch and grab me.
The women-only carriage, although still busy, was less crowded than what I have previously experienced. This alleviated the anxiety of feeling trapped and like I had no way to escape. For me, the experience was positive.
But it also raised questions and thoughts about how we as a society handle issues of sexual harrassment.
To exist in a society where being segregated by sex is a key factor in feeling safe to do something as ordinary as riding the subway is a harsh reality. It feels backwards.
Introducing women-only carriages helps women feel safer and creates a more positive experience of using public transport, but it goes no further than that. It fails to address the shifts needed in societal behavior by bypassing the issue rather than solving it.
Sexual harassment is rooted in sexism and prejudice. Separating sexes only has a positive impact in the short-term.
Ana’s perspective
The first time I went on public transport alone, I was scared. It was the typical scene that none of us likes to admit – sweaty hands being dried on clothes, a fast-beating heart, and most of all, the incomprehensible looking around to see if anything suspicious was going on.
As time progressed, and public transport became more a normality than a special event, those feelings slowly faded.
The fear dissolved, replaced by my daily question of what music I wanted to listen to, and my previous worry became an annoyance at the guy playing an electric harp at 5 a.m. (yes, there is such a thing as an electric harp.)
But that initial feeling of insecurity never leaves. It’s there every time you hear the story of a woman getting harassed in the same spot you were in before, of the horror stories that are sometimes told when gossiping with friends, and when you look behind your back and see someone looking directly at you in a suspicious manner.
That permanent feeling was what I wanted to lose when entering a women-only car, but even though it sounds wonderful at the start, it’s not the permanent solution that we have to look for.
Throughout our time in the carriage, there was: no accountability if a man entered, a lack of division between the areas, and an increase in the vulnerability of the women who were in the mixed areas.
Instead of solving the problem, these women-only carriages put a tiny bandage on it, one that has been reapplied many times since its start. Maybe that bandage should be replaced by finding a good way to coexist instead of dividing the sexes into different spaces.
Our perspectives all return to the same core idea – these carriages offer a safe space for women but should not be the answer to the problem of public sexual harassment.
It is disappointing that to feel safe, women have to completely isolate themselves.
While we appreciate the effort, certain elements such as the no-doors-between-carriages and the free entry of men into the women-only space makes us wonder how effective the solution really is.
Gemma Christie is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International from England, UK. She co-wrote this article.
Ana Fadul is a Correspondent with Youth Journalism International from Bogotá, Colombia. She co-wrote this article.
Holly Hostettler-Davies is an Associate Editor with Youth Journalism International from Wales, UK. She co-wrote this article.
Samantha Esquivel is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Matamoros, Mexico. She contributed a photo to this article.
