A friend recently got in touch with me for travel advice on India.
She is thinking of spending a few weeks here in the summer and wanted
tips on must-sees and must-avoids. She also wanted to know if India is
safe for women.
“I will have friends with me for some of the trip, but might be alone
for bits too – is this safe? The news has not been very
confidence-inspiring lately,” she said.
My friend was referring to the
December gang rape and death of a young Indian woman in Delhi, an incident that drew global attention to women’s safety in the country.
There was more horrific news over the weekend. A
Swiss woman told police she was gang-raped
while camping with her husband near Orchha, a Mughal-era citadel that
only now is starting to appear on the tourist circuit. Four men
confessed to raping the woman, and were arrested on Sunday, say police.
Foreigners have been sexually assaulted in India before. A
British teenager was raped and murdered in Goa in 2008, a high-profile case that was closely tracked in the United Kingdom. And in 2006, a man was convicted of
raping a German tourist
in a hotel room in Rajasthan. He fled on parole at the time. Police in
Kerala on Friday said they found a man who matches his description and
are holding him in custody, according to the Press Trust of India.
While tragic, these incidents are rare in India. Around 6.3 million
foreign tourists visited India in 2011, the latest year for which
government data is available. A large share of visitors are women, and
many of them travel alone.
Control Risks, a global risk consultancy firm, in a travel briefing
issued in response to the alleged rape of the Swiss woman, said that
“although the incident is serious, violent crime against foreigners
remains relatively rare in India.”
“India remains generally safe for female travelers and most women
will experience, at worst, unwelcome attention from men,” it added,
while cautioning tourists against traveling alone or in small groups.
High-profile rape cases have made foreign travelers more aware of women’s safety in the country.
“Even though the incident in Delhi didn’t make me change my plans,
there is an increased sense of caution,” says 39-year-old Clare Skinner,
a British citizen who is traveling by herself. “I have decided to stick
to the main tourist spots and I am only flying between cities. I am not
taking the train,” added Ms. Skinner, speaking in a café in Connaught
Place, a popular tourist spot in New Delhi.
“After the incident in December, what surprised me was how badly
women are treated here,” said Ms. Skinner, adding that the Delhi rape
case has changed her perception of India, a country she has visited many
times before.
Goelle Mathey, a 46-year-old Swiss national, said she was “shocked”
to learn about the alleged gang-rape of a Swiss woman near Orchha in
Madhya Pradesh. “But India is a lot more safe than other countries,” she
added.
Megan Beard, a 27-year-old Australian, agrees. “There are always bad
things happening everywhere. What is happening here is a little bit
worrying but when you are travelling, irrespective of where you are
travelling, it’s important to have your wits in place,” said Ms. Beard,
who is traveling with a tour group.
Harkripal Singh, the Delhi representative of the Travel Agents
Association of India, a lobby group, says that the December rape case
has not affected the tourism industry in the country. “In every country
of the globe, these kinds of incidents happen from time to time,” says
Mr. Singh, adding that the industry is now more aware about the need to
help prevent sexual crimes against tourists.
Ravneet Kler, director at the Delhi-based Sadhana Tours, says he
hasn’t received any questions from clients on women’s safety in recent
months. Still, “there are certain rules we follow,” says Mr. Kler. “Our
drivers say things like, ‘Ma’am don’t go here, it’s not a good area.’
Simple things like that help,” he says.
Guide books and foreign governments have long warned women to be careful when traveling in India.
Tripadvisor, the travel Website, has a whole page on
tips for women traveling on their own in Delhi. These include suggesting women dress more conservatively and avoid interacting with men.
Foreign governments have similar travel advice for their citizens in
India. “U.S. citizens, particularly women, are cautioned not to travel
alone in India,” says a
note from the U.S. Department of State. It adds that “women should observe stringent security precautions” like avoiding the use of public transport after dark.
“If you are a woman traveling in India you should respect local dress
codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when
alone at any time of day,” says a
notice on the website of the British foreign office.
