Editorial: It’s time for men to take a stand for pregnant women

CIVIL rights activist Rosa Parks led to a renewed push for desegregation in the US after being pushed to the back of the bus. Now we hope Karlie Rutherford’s column will spark men to do the same — by offering a seat to a pregnant woman.

AMONG the many fascinating exhibits at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit is what at first appears to be a very ordinary, although immaculately restored, old Alabama bus. It isn’t even a Ford. The ­vehicle is a 1948 GMC.

The significance of the bus is that civil rights activist Rosa Parks was aboard when she was ordered to a back seat by James Blake, the vehicle’s white driver. Parks, a black woman, refused. She was subsequently arrested, but Parks’s stand led to a ­renewed and eventually successful push for desegregation in the US. So good things can come from regrettable incidents on public transport.

Hopefully something good may emerge from Karlie Rutherford’s column in today’s Daily Telegraph. Karlie’s problem isn’t that she was ordered to take a different seat. It’s that not a single seat was offered to her.

Karlie Rutherford was not offered a seat despite being visibly pregnant. Picture: Justin Lloyd

As Karlie writes: “I was travelling home from a long day at work on a packed bus. I was forced to stand and cling on for dear life as our driver auditioned for a Formula One gig while, typically younger, gentlemen sat around me comfortably.

“Usually this wouldn’t have bothered me — I consider myself a strong, independent woman and understand the ­female fight for equality doesn’t necessarily give me the right to expect a man to stand for me. But I’m pregnant.”

And visibly so. Only a few generations ago, it would have been unthinkable for a pregnant woman to be so treated on a Sydney bus. A few generations prior to that, and it would have been unthinkable for a gentleman not to stand when a woman entered the room.

Gains in equality between men and women should not come at the cost of manners which, in the case of compelling a pregnant woman to stand during a bus ride, amount to something of a health and safety issue as well. In a way, as Karlie points out, the pregnancy factor ­removes the issue of equality from considerations.

When you see a pregnant lady on public transport, just offer her a seat. Picture: iStock

Men cannot become pregnant, which means they cannot know the physical difficulty of negotiating public transport.

That is why men of earlier times would reflexively offer their seats to any woman who was clearly pregnant. It’s just the right thing to do. It is civilised and proper, and should once again become standard practice.

Men of Sydney, this is your chance to stand for decency.

Condolences for a top Dog

AT 59, former Canterbury premiership-winning player and coach Steve Folkes was just as committed to fitness as he had been during his brilliant Bulldogs career. Indeed, it is understood that Folkes was exercising yesterday when he was felled by a suspected heart attack.

Rest in peace Steve Folkes. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

The loss of Folkes ahead of the 2018 NRL season has shaken all who knew him, and also a huge fan base who still speak of his courage to this day, more than two decades after his final game. Steve Folkes epitomised the Bulldog spirit. The Daily Telegraph extends its deepest sympathies to Folkes’s family, friends and the entire rugby league community.

PC’s promising move

EVEN prior to the First Fleet’s arrival in 1788, the ratio of authorities to population was a vital concern in what would become NSW.

Aboard the 11 ships that comprised the First Fleet were hundreds of marines and their families, along with the convicts they commanded. Whether by accident or design, that initial ratio seems to have worked, at least by the standards of the day.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian promised the Police Commissioner there will be more cops. Will she stick to it?

Now, 230 years later, the government is considering again the number of police that would be appropriate for securing the safety of our citizens. This issue was at the forefront for our police chiefs when Gladys Berejiklian took over as Premier in 2017, and it is now becoming rather more pressing.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has revealed that the Premier gave him a “personal commitment” last year that he could have more officers. So he’s calling in on that promise.

According to Police Association president Scott Weber, our force needs at least 500 extra officers a year for the next five years.

Over to you, Premier Berejiklian. A promise is a promise.