Dian Riski Rosmayanti, a 25-year-old worker, already felt dizzy when she got to the women-only train car that would transport her from Depok to her office in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, one morning.

Dian, who was one-month pregnant at the time, did not get a seat because the train was so full. Although she felt she wanted to throw up, she could not do anything but try to pull herself together.

“A passenger next to me said that I was pale,” she recalled.

Dian said when the train reached Manggarai Station in South Jakarta, she wanted to get off so she could rest.

The on-board officer had warned the boarding passengers to be orderly, but they rushed to the train and pushed her back. “I fell on the floor. Since then, I avoid taking trains in the rush hours,” Dian, who is now six-month pregnant, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

She said the incident was one of several that occurred when she took the women-only train. “Even when people can tell that I am pregnant, they still turn their faces away to avoid giving me a seat,” she said.

She said she could not ask for help from the on-board officers. Because they were male they could not freely patrol when the car was full of women, she explained.

Dian, however, said she never begged other passengers to give her a seat. “Maybe they are also tired,” she said.

Dian added that she now stays at her grandmother’s house on weekdays and goes back to Depok only on weekends to avoid taking trains.

Since 2010, city train operator PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ) has provided two cars in each train that are dedicated for women passengers in order to prevent the sexual harassment that rampantly occurs in crowded public transportation.

The action has been praised by many but Dian and numerous other women, especially those with special needs, are becoming reluctant to use the cars as they think that other women passengers tend to be meaner.

Many passengers expressed their opinions on social media with expressions like: “Kejamnya ibu tiri, lebih kejam ibu-ibu di gerbong perempuan” (as cruel as a stepmother can get, middle-aged women are crueler in female-only cars).

The case of Dinda, a commuter line passenger, who delivered an opinion on her social media Path account that went viral in 2014 depicts a similar situation.

Dinda, who was then bullied by many netizens, said that she did not want to give up her seat as she had to struggle to wake up early to get it. Meanwhile, she argued that it was not fair when pregnant women came later and asked for her seat.

Amelia Nur Fikri, a 21-year-old who commutes every day to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, said that women-only cars were like a Hunger Games arena.

“Middle-aged women usually yelled back and got mad if they were told to give up their seats, or not to rush when going in or out,” she said.

Amelia said that she considered that women were meaner because they thought they were equal, so there was no reason to give up their seats to other women.

“Men are usually embarrassed if they have to argue with us about not giving up their seats,” she said.

KCJ spokesperson Eva Chairunisa said the company had provided the facilities and officers to ensure that women, especially those with special needs, could travel comfortably.

She said, however, that the company could not go further, like ensuring that passengers, who total up to 860,000 per day, behave well when they were on trains by calling them to be more patient and understanding of people with special needs.

Sociologist Musni Muin said urban people tended to be more selfish, so they usually did not have empathy for other people. “People do not respect each other anymore, let alone by helping the weak and giving seats to the elderly,” he said.

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