This University Is Trying Out "Women Only" Gym Times

“Whatever happened to gender equality?"

The University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, recently added a new feature to its on-campus gym: women- only hours.

Duncan Shaw-brown / Facebook: UCRecCentre

group of gym people in a pilates class

The new hours were rolled out by the university to meet the cultural needs of all the students after a formal request was submitted by a student group.

"This isn't the first time the UC RecCentre has received this request," a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. "But it is the first time there has been suitable space resource available to trial it."

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The new gym hours do not affect the whole gym, with 18 hours a week set aside for some areas to become "women only". All of the equipment in the women only areas is also available in other parts of the gym.

However, the new hours did cop criticism from some on social media, with Facebook users asking if there would be a "men only" section cordoned off as well.

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"There has never been a formal request for men only hours or space at the RecCentre," said a spokesperson. "If there was a significant demand for men only hours, or for any other cohort, it would go through the same process."

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The University of Canterbury isn't the only university in New Zealand to provide women only space in its gym; Auckland University has a similar program.