Dubai Metro: Where are all the women?!

It’s just after 6pm on a Saturday evening. I’m standing in the middle of a packed Metro carriage going from Dubai Marina to Burj Khalifa. I suddenly realise that there isn’t a single woman in my compartment or even in the next one. I start to wonder if women actually take the Metro here or if it’s just a coincidence that I’m travelling at a time when no other woman in Dubai decided to take this train! What are the odds?!

I carry on with my journey as normal. No one says anything to me, which is a good sign. I get the odd stares from now and then, which makes me feel uncomfortable. Someone offers me his seat, which I kindly decline, as funnily enough the seat has a “Do not use” sign due to Covid-19 restrictions.

I finally get to my destination and on the way down the escalator, I see few women. What a relief! Women do take the Metro! It’s just that there aren’t many of them and by coincidence they were all in a different carriage. After all, the population density here is quite small and it’s likely that there are more men than women.

Ok! I’m satisfied with the explanation that my brain has just produced. So, I carry on with my evening as normal – shopping, dinning and enjoying the water fountain shows next to Burj Khalifa.

On my way back, I get on the last carriage of the Metro. Head down busy reading the news on my phone when I suddenly hear a female voice saying “Excuse me sir, you are in the wrong carriage. This is a women and children only carriage!”. Aha! I lift my head up and see the carriage full of women apart from the one guy, who seems to be a young British tourist. He blushes and disappears so quickly to the next carriage whilst mumbling some apologies.

My dilemma has finally been resolved. It felt like finding water in the middle of the desert! Women do take the Metro in Dubai. It’s just that they prefer to use the female-only carriages, which were originally intended for use during rush hour.

Due to their popularity, they became permanent, which seems to be a welcome move as you hardly ever see any woman on the mixed carriages. They are well posted with pink signs – at least for those who lift their heads up and look around!

As much as I’m relieved to know that I wasn’t the only woman on the train and that I was just on the wrong part of it, I wonder if the segregation is actually a good idea and why it’s so popular!

Whatever the reasons, I have to admit that I felt more comfortable in the female-only carriage – at least you don’t get the odd stares. One thing for sure though is, if you’re still single in Dubai, the Metro is definitely not the place to meet your future partner!