Women-only Parking

I read an article this morning that said, “parking bays at shopping malls demarcated for female drivers are being used by inconsiderate male drivers and shoppers.” I find the tone used in the article, thoroughly offensive.

I was also just as unhappy with the women-only carriages on KTM trains for the same reasons. Replace “women-only” with any religion/race and you’d have the whole country in an uproar, like the “halal” elevator issue at a local hotel recently.

Whenever I see these “women-only” parking bays at shopping malls, it thoroughly pisses me off. I don’t understand why am I being discriminated against. It’s bad enough that I live in a country that discriminates against me based on race. Now, I’m having public transport and shopping malls discriminate against me based on gender.

What’s next – gender segregated check-out lines, cinema halls, hair salons, etc? Oh wait, we already have that in PAS-led Kelantan.

According to the article, “it is the same with bays that are designated for physically challenged drivers.” These are the standard parking bays and are not like disabled parking at all, which are few and are specially sized and designed for the use of disabled vehicles.

Further, according to the article, the mall “set aside 445 out of 1,600 parking bays for the convenience of women shoppers.” That’s nearly a whopping 30%! There are definitely not 30% disabled parking in malls. 30% reserved parking is not a reasonable number by anyone’s count.

The only rational justification that the malls can give for setting aside these women-only parking is for security reasons. Then, my answer to them is that this is not the answer. You do not provide security by cordoning off women-only parking. That’s the lazy solution.

If the mall truly wanted to provide better security for women, they must markedly increase the number of security guards on patrol. As the article states, “…4,889 parking bays in the mall, with 10 security guards patrolling every level…” There are 4-levels. Do the math.

Can you see the problem there?

Malls can even provide a special valet service, hire a bunch of valets and charge the women more for this service. Or if they really want to rip-off their customers, sell these women special season parking passes since “80% of our shoppers are women and convenience to them is important.”

Yea, and men like to be inconvenienced.

This zoning of parking lots is the dumbest solution that can only work in a country where the people are not savvy enough to haul the malls’ arse to court. I pay the same price for parking as a woman, so why do I not have the right to park in 30% of the lots.

It’s ridiculous. It’s unreasonable. It’s probably unlawful too.

PS: My dear sisters, you have to rise up and fight against such wanton and arbitrary discrimination.