Delhi Named Most Unsafe City For Women

Last week, a good friend asked if I wanted to attend a conference in Delhi this November about making cities safer for women. Friends because of our mutual interest in combating street harassment — we met while doing similar activist work in different cities — I jumped at the chance. Imagine my surprise to discover that Delhi was recently named the most unsafe city for women in India.

Delhi has a bad rap from the jump. It has notoriously poor lighting, is generally unwalkable, and has been called the "rape capital of India," which doesn't exactly comfort my partner when I explain the measures I'll take to stay safe while traveling. (Yes, we're two young women, and we're going alone.) The new study, conducted at the behest of the city's government, no less, states that women in Delhi, women "feel unsafe at all times and in all places." Woah.

Poor lighting and lack of walking paths and usable sidewalks are only a part of the problem. Cramped public transit allows for unwanted rubbing and touching, and a lack of public toilets also contributes to the problem. Moreover, the study mentions that open use of drugs and alcohol creates an environment in which anything goes.

Women are sexually harassed at seemingly every opportunity, making the claim that they feel unsafe at all times ring particularly true. From public parks to markets to riding on public transit, there are literally no public spaces in which women will be free from some form of unwanted male attention. The most commonly reported forms of harassment include verbal comments, staring and leering, and physical attacks such as groping.

The burden of safety still lies on the women, who are encouraged to dress conservatively (as if that matters!), stay in after dark, and carry mace and safety pins to spray and poke undeterred harassers. And of course in my case, there's always some privilege to consider. A good friend who lived in India for several years told me that, as a white woman, I'll likely be harassed less than locals. I didn't find this particularly comforting because as someone who travels a lot as a fairly obvious outsider and even lives outside my home country, I don't relish being treated differently. Still, if it means I won't need the mace I'll be packing, maybe I can hand it off to someone else who needs it more than I do.

Photo Credit: Dr EG