In the aftermath of a Mumbai – Newark flight last month where a man self-downgraded from business to a center section seat in economy so he could grope a woman (and in the aftermath of the controversy over whether first class armrests used to move) Air India plans to reserve six seats at the front of economy for women only.
“We will be reserving the third row — six seats — in the economy class of the aircraft for female passengers travelling alone,” said Air India GM-revenue management Meenakshi Malik. “As national carriers, it is our responsibility to enhance comfort level to female passengers. There are a lot of women who travel alone with us and we will be blocking a few seats for them.”
Air India Boeing 777-200LR, Copyright: boarding1now / 123RF Stock Photo
This will do nothing of course to protect female flight attendants from male passengers, although in India ‘outraging the modesty’ of a woman is an actual crime.
And it does nothing for female pilots in India who get assignments based on the romantic preferences of their male cohorts.
(HT: The Winglet)
This doesn’t make sense. Do lesbians not have douchebags in their midst? A woman could get groped by a lesbian.
This is more about dealing with overreaction. If a male passenger falls asleep and drools on his neighboring woman passenger she might claim “Outraging the modesty of a woman”
If you think this is improbable I would advise you to go read of all the cases of domestic violence in India where women hit their husbands and then threaten to complain under section 498A (Dowry control Act). 498A means the husband and his family goes to jail without bail till the case goes to trial. No evidence required. The word of a woman is enough. India has some of the most anti-male laws in the world and most entitled Middle Class housewives. Poor women work. Middle Class housewives “advocate”.