In the light of gender equality, this article will discuss the phenomenon of a separate women's compartment on Cairo's metro.

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As a foreigner, the first thing I noticed when using the metro in Cairo, were the two compartments in the middle, exclusively reserved for women. Although little boys are allowed to travel on the women’s cart in female company, often with their mothers, or a sister, adult men are yelled off the cart. Yet, the other way around, women are allowed to travel on the men’s carts, which therefore can be considered shared carts, and often do so, alone, or in the company of male friends, or relatives. Indeed, for a woman it might be much more comfortable to travel on a women’s cart, especially if one seeks to avoid staring, and perhaps even touching, grabbing, or feeling uncomfortable in general.

As I found this phenomenon rather interesting, still I was not sure what to think of it at first in terms of gender equality, I could not help but wonder whether a separate women’s compartment would be a positive, or a negative thing. Of course, it depends entirely on one’s own perspective. Yet, one could argue that, from a feminist perspective, that it is not at all a positive development. Rightly, one could raise the question: ‘Why do women need a separate compartment on the metro?’ Probably, the answer would be that they do not feel comfortable travelling in the men’s, or shared carts, because of the behavior of the men. Therefore, the problem lies with the men, and one could wonder why the women would have to get a separate compartment rather than the men having to change their behavior in order to make the women feel more comfortable again. Conversely, one could argue that women’s compartment is there for the protection of the women, and a separate compartment is therefore not necessarily discriminative.

Personally, I am still in doubt. In a way, I believe that equality between men and women can never be achieved if women have to be separated from men, be it on the metro or in any other situation. However, in the mean time I am more than grateful for a space especially designed for women, where we can be safe and comfortable.

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