A woman in Sweden has shared her disgust after being kicked off a bus for not wearing enough clothes during a heatwave.
Amanda Hansson, 19, reportedly attempted to get on a bus in Malmö wearing shorts and a top with a bow on the front, but was quickly told by the driver she couldn’t board ‘dressed like that’.
The 19-year-old said it was a ‘very hot day’ at 27°C and so she was dressed appropriately for the hot weather – as anyone would be – when she was accosted by the driver of the bus.
Amanda slated the bus driver in a now-viral Facebook post to the company’s page, in which she described herself as ‘furious’ and ‘humiliated’ coming away from the incident.
The post has since received nearly 3,000 likes and almost as many comments, with many berating the driver and demanding he should be given a warning by the the local transport authority, Skånetrafiken.
The teenager started her complaint by describing what happened as she attempted to board the bus (translated to English):
I’m wearing a pair of shorts and a top that has a bow knot up there. I’m going on the bus, scanning my ticket but suddenly the bus driver stops me.
He says ‘can I talk to you?’ and I just [said] ‘huh?’ Then he says ‘you can’t go dressed like that on our buses’ and I just [said] ‘what are you talking about?’ of which he answers [sic] ‘you get to dress, you show way too much’ (already here I boil from anger).
Jag är otroligr arg, och vill bara beklaga mig.Idag så gick jag på buss 3 på södervärn (11.05 EXK 069) i Malmö. En…
Posted by Amanda Hansson on Friday, July 26, 2019
The teenager went on to say the driver began referencing a policy which ‘absolutely doesn’t exist’ before telling her she couldn’t continue with her journey until she got dressed.
She continued (translated to English):
I’m furious. I’m going off the bus because whether I want to stay tuned in [sic] pure protest I was so angry so I just wanted to scream and cry.
I question what kind of ‘fucking sexist shit’ is and goes from [sic]. I have never felt this humiliated ever in my entire life, and that it should take place in public environment on a bus drive [sic] me crazy.
The incident has rightly prompted outrage from women’s rights campaigners, with Sara Mohammad of Glöm Aldrig Pela och Fadime (Never forget Pela and Fadime) telling The Local she was shocked by the driver’s behaviour.
Sara, who is the chair of the group which campaigns against female body shaming, said she was glad Amanda rejected the driver’s assumed right to tell her what to wear and what not to wear, adding: ‘I wish all women rejected this, whether it’s from a bus driver, or a father, or a mother or an uncle, whoever it is. It’s my body. I own it.’
Despite the bus driver referencing a policy, the bus company, Nobina, and local transport provider Skånetrafiken said that a dress code doesn’t exist.
They told Swedish magazine Sydsvenskan in a statement, as per MailOnline:
Neither Nobina nor Skånetrafiken have any policies as to the attire of our travellers and customers, but all should be treated equally and with respect.
A single employee has acted completely incorrectly and contrary to our values and guidelines. The driver has now been taken out of service and we will carefully investigate the matter further.
At the same time, we would like to apologise to Amanda, who has been mistreated.
The driver has been suspended until an internal investigation is completed.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).