Monday, November 29, 2010

Men in Indian female-only carriage forced to do sit-ups

A group of male passengers travelling in a female-only carriage on New Delhi's new metro system were ordered to do sit-ups on the platform by the furious women. At least one carriage is reserved for women on every metro train in the Indian capital, where female residents and tourists have complained about sexual harassment on public transport for decades.

The metro has also become severely congested with the lines expanding into the suburbs over the last year and most regular carriages packed to capacity. Police led a crackdown at a station in Gurgaon, a booming satellite development on the outskirts of Delhi, after a series of complaints - and women passengers joined in the action.



"Not only were the unruly commuters made to shell out a fine of 250 rupees (5.40 dollars), angry women slapped some of them and forced them to do sit-ups". Gurgaon police commissioner S. Deswal, who led the raid, said: "We found many male passengers in the women's coach. The moment the women saw us, they got the courage to teach the men a lesson."

"We want our young girls and women to feel confident and safe while travelling in the Metro," he said. Some of the men in the women's carriage "had to bear the ignominy of doing sit-ups in public" when they were caught on at the Guru Dronacharya station.

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