Ladies in Abu Dhabi now have even more parking spaces to choose from…

An Abu Dhabi mall has set aside more than 80 parking bays to be used exclusively by female shoppers.

Al Wahda Mall says it is the first shopping mall in the capital to offer ladies-only parking, although pink parking already exists in other multi-storey buildings around the emirate.

Here’s what the designated area looks like (as you can see, it’s very pink):

Why are they doing this? Well, the mall wants to entice even more women shoppers (and keep them coming back).

“More than 50 per cent of shoppers at Al Wahda Mall are women, hence we are always looking at providing them with the best shopping experience,” general manager Mohammed Nauman Thakur said.

“Reserved parking spaces for women shoppers encourages them to visit the mall more often.”

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The pink parking spaces are located in the ground floor of the mall, and in the extension area.

Sounds familiar? In August, the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport allocated 182 parking spaces around Abu Dhabi for ladies-only use, painting them pink and white.

The department said the designated parking bays would help maintain women’s privacy.

The idea of ladies-only parking actually originated in Germany in the 1990s as a way of preventing women from being attacked in dimly-lit carpark buildings.

Not everyone is a fan, though – some say gendered parking is sexist.

One shopping mall in China was criticised for having ladies-only parking spaces that were wider than normal (insinuating that women are worse drivers than men). 

What do you think?