The issue of women’s safety in India has been in the news frequently lately. Many women have expressed concerns about traveling there, and many more have opted not to go at all. I’ve never been to India — and I’m also not a woman — but I feel this is an important subject to discuss. Today, please welcome Candace Rardon, who spent many months traveling around India by herself, to discuss safety and solo travel in India.
Why go to India?
I am aware of the various threats facing Indian women and foreign visitors alike: staring, groping, stalking, and most seriously, rape. With such threats forever hanging over a female traveler’s head, it makes sense to wonder if India is worth the worry and the hassle. Why not skip it entirely in favor of less troublesome destinations?
One reason: No country will fascinate and frustrate you more.
While travel in India will require heightened attention and common sense, let me assure you it is worth it. Although I did encounter men who stared at me inappropriately, there were countless others who in no way treated me as a sexual object: farmers and pharmacists, shopkeepers and teachers, men whose warmth, kindness, and compassion moved me in unexpected ways.
IS IT SAFE FOR WOMEN TO TRAVEL INDIA?
September 9, 2013 / By NomadicMatt
candace rardon in IndiaThe issue of women’s safety in India has been in the news frequently lately. Many women have expressed concerns about traveling there, and many more have opted not to go at all. I’ve never been to India — and I’m also not a woman — but I feel this is an important subject to discuss. Today, please welcome Candace Rardon, who spent many months traveling around India by herself, to discuss safety and solo travel in India.
My introduction to India came behind the wheel of an auto-rickshaw.
For two weeks in 2011, my friend Citlalli and I took part in the Rickshaw Run, driving one of India’s ubiquitous three-wheeled vehicles 2,000 miles across the country.
On our fifth morning, we spent three hours wrestling our way through an 18-mile traffic jam in Bihar, a state known for its poverty and violence. After the second hour, I needed a break from dodging trucks and buses and cows, and so we pulled over.
Instantly a crowd of about 20 men surrounded our rickshaw. Citlalli and I nervously said hello, hoping to break the tension we felt as two foreign women in such a situation, when a white-haired shopkeeper approached us. In his hand were two tiny cups of sweet, steaming chai.
I tried to explain that we were out of small change and couldn’t pay him for the tea, but he insisted, saying, “I may be poor, but I still have a heart.”
Why go to India?
rickshaws on the busy streets of India
I am aware of the various threats facing Indian women and foreign visitors alike: staring, groping, stalking, and most seriously, rape. With such threats forever hanging over a female traveler’s head, it makes sense to wonder if India is worth the worry and the hassle. Why not skip it entirely in favor of less troublesome destinations?
One reason: No country will fascinate and frustrate you more.
While travel in India will require heightened attention and common sense, let me assure you it is worth it. Although I did encounter men who stared at me inappropriately, there were countless others who in no way treated me as a sexual object: farmers and pharmacists, shopkeepers and teachers, men whose warmth, kindness, and compassion moved me in unexpected ways.
The man who gave us chai in Bihar was only the beginning. There was the time I had Delhi belly in Bhubaneswar and a hotel worker brought me yogurt with sugar; the time I was waiting for a friend’s flight to arrive at 1:00 am, and a guy I struck up a conversation with invited us to his sister’s wedding the next week; and the time I jumped off a train in Chennai and a man led me across the street to buy gauze and disinfectant to patch up my skinned knee.
It is impossible to stereotype a nation of one billion people, and bad experiences there will naturally be impossible to avoid. The challenge lies in refusing to accept such occurrences as the status quo, while still choosing to focus on the positive. This might sound trite or naïve, but it’s a choice that India demands of you.
Drawing on my own time in India as well as advice from other women who have traveled there extensively, here are 11 tips to help ward off unwanted situations — but also keep you open to positive experiences:
In Day 1 im doing lots of Enjoy And Tommrow Im Doing lots Of fun..!
So keep connect with me Very soon Im Posting More Travelling Video ..!You will enjoy travelling with me..!
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Now Im so tired i want to do some rest ..!
Good Night..!
Love u INDIA..!