Special privileges for women praised-and panned as sexist

An elderly man in central China's Henan province was irritated when the bus he usually takes pulled over sporting a sign saying "women only".

Since late April, the bus company in Zhengzhou has operated summer buses reserved for female passengers during rush hours. The buses are part of an effort to reduce sexual harassment during the summer, when women often wear skimpier clothing, and to make breast-feeding mothers more comfortable, according to Kong Chaoping, a representative of the company.

But Liu Tianhao, a male passenger, worried that "segregation" of passengers based on gender could lead to even greater negative impacts and a waste of social resources.