Ladies, too often have we seen men boarding the Women-Only Coach on the KTM commuter service without consideration, and too long have we kept mum.
But 25-year-old Wan Amiasyazlia Meor, has come out to remind Malaysian women to stand up for our rights, after she witnessed male passengers boarding the coach without guilt or shame.
While the displeasing sight struck a nerve with the lass, Wan was immensely disappointed after fellow women chose to remain silent as she chased the male passengers out of the ladies coach.
“I hate women who remain silent when their rights are being robbed; I hate women who do not stand up for themselves and protect their rights.
“And I hate who refuse to take action, when they’re aware that their silence will have detrimental impacts in the long-run,” her Facebook post dated February 16, read.
Wan then recounted that she and a friend were on their way to Rawang from Shah Alam, when they encountered 10 male passengers on board the ladies coach were pleasantly seated, while female passengers were left standing.
Although the men pose zilch threats, their presence soon proved to be of inconvenience when a mother felt uncomfortable to breastfeed her infant child whilst on the train.
But rather than showing any sense of decency, the men paid no mind to the situation, and even attempted to catch a glimpse of the mother breastfeeding her child.
“The moment we arrived at the Subang Jaya station, I couldn’t take it anymore as more and more men boarded the ladies coach without any remorse.
“So I stood in the middle of the crowd and politely asked the men to board the normal coaches instead,” she shared in the now viral post.
Her plea unfortunately was to no avail, as the men deemed Wan to be a meddler whilst throwing condescending remarks at her – which further angered the netizen, and prompted her to raise her voice.
And as soon as her public outcry caught the attention of many, the group of men began to exit the ladies coach.
But the verbal altercation also revealed the painful reality of women succumbing to cowardice – choosing to be bystanders – when Wan was left to fend for herself alone as the men continued to taunt her.
“I hate the fact that other women, who were on board the train, didn’t muster the courage to stand up with me – to protect a right that has been given to us by KTM,” and pointed out that they (the women) permitted the men to cuss at her while she defended for their right.
“Your silence is their strength, as more men will be bolder to board the ladies coach, especially when they see other men board the all-female coach.
“Your ignorance only magnifies men’s ignorance concerning women’s right; so what’s the point of having a ladies coach when men board freely, and women silently allow it?”
However, it is safe to assume that her fellow female passengers are grateful of Wan’s impromptu act of activism as the breastfeeding mother then breastfed her child with ease when the men were out of sight.
To top it all off, all the seats that were previously occupied by the men were then taken by the women who were initially standing.
“I was the only one who prohibited men from boarding the ladies coach throughout the whole journey,” she lamented.
“But that soon changed when we arrived at the Kuala Lumpur station, and a partially blind uncle became our knight in shining armour,” and soon discovered his name to be Encik Rashid.
Calling him her hero, Wan relayed that the kind-hearted uncle stood at the door of the ladies coach to prevent men from boarding, and even chased them out from one end to the other.
As a matter of fact, her Facebook post which has garnered over 28k shares, has prompted the security guards to make regular rounds of inspection to ensure that there are no male passengers boarding the ladies coach.
“Dear ladies, the police and kind-hearted men aren’t Superman, where they protect you anywhere and at any time.
“We shouldn’t allow inconsiderate people to suppress us when these heroes aren’t around, as we too have the ability to protect ourselves,” she reminded.
Wan ended the post by urging women to stand up for their rights, to address any issues are threatens or opposes this right, as in doing so it will produce a society with good etiquettes, first-class mindset and being more conscious of their civic mindedness.
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