Fighting sexual harassment: Nepal's women-only buses
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Nepalese females can now take women-only buses in Kathmandu as the government tries to fight sexual harassment and groping on public transport.
Four 16-seat buses will take women across a popular east-west route, and if the initiative proves successful the government plans to add more.
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While there are no official sexual assault statistics in Nepal, police say reports of violence against women have almost quadrupled as the country sees increased awareness of gender crimes.
"There were complaints that women are facing groping and sexual harassment while travelling in crowded buses," said Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, a senior transport ministry official.
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The buses will initially have male drivers and only one female would be serving as a conductor. While authorities want to hire more female drivers and conductors, they say they are hard to come by.
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Female commuters in Kathmandu have welcomed the move.
"It is safer as well as more comfortable, but the buses must also run when it gets dark and when it is difficult for women to travel," said 17-year-old student Parbati Gurung.
Gurung’s views echo those of most females in the world’s 15 largest capitals who said in a recent survey that they would feel safer in single-sex-areas whilst taking buses and trains.
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Inside a women-only bus, pictured above, someone scrawled the words "Seats Reserved for Women" in Nepali.
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