Is India safe for women to travel to? No, it isn’t if you don’t pay attention to local culture and what is expected from you as a woman in daily life situations, even though you’re just traveling for a short time. India is relatively safe regarding crime (nothing that compares to Brazil and South Africa, for example) but you must keep your guard against sexual harassment and rape. It can be dangerous for any carelessness but taking the necessary cautions, there’s no big deal for women traveling in India. The point is: you can’t be naïve in India. Traveling there requires some caution, to comprehend how to behave and how to dress according to local culture, as well as being aware of the main cultural shocks travelers face once they arrive.
As I had explained in a previous post In India, the fellas go crazy with foreign girls, Indian women don’t join the same liberties women do in Western societies. And drink alcohol and smoking in public are big taboos in the country, especially for women. Indian families are also very protective of their daughters fearing harassment and even kidnapping, which I heard sometimes while living in Jaipur. Apart from the big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, you won’t see too many women outside during the day, let alone at night and at nightclubs.
White skin women in India are “exotic”
White skin in India draws a lot of attention for being considered a high standard of beauty, which explains why many local men stare at foreign women and why cosmetics for fair skin are among the most popular. Visiting India as a white woman means you will get a lot of stares from local men and it’s common for them to take pictures of you on the streets or at nightclubs. The way Indian men stare at foreign women as if they’ve never seen a woman in their lives, especially white ones, was one of my first culture shocks there.
It’s primordial to comprehend that Indian society has been changing a lot and too fast with the intense modernization going on since the 1990s. Such changes in Indian society brought improvements in the standards of living for some social segments, while they have also boosted social tensions as a huge amount of men migrate to the cities without instruction, job, and any perspective to find a wife. And these tensions also boost the increase in alcohol consumption, higher demand for pornography, and prostitution in Indian big cities.
The label of fair skin as an exotic beauty standard (including Bollywood), in addition to pornography, feeds the idea of foreign women as “easy”. Then, many Indian guys will treat you in a way they would never do with an Indian woman.
Just to have a clue about my experience as a foreign man living in India, I had just met a few Indian women. And no longer could think about visiting their homes, it would be enough to have trouble with their families. You don’t see too many women out at night at bars and clubs. If you see 20 or 30 women at a party, it’s already a lot by local standards and half of them are usually foreigners. For many Indians, a woman at night outside is treated as a prostitute.
OMG, there is a foreign working here!
For women going to India for the purpose of work, internship, exchange, or volunteering, beware of the possibility of being used as a “stupid hot girl” to bring more deals for the company or NGO taking advantage of the fetish Indian men, who are usually predominant at decision-making positions, feel for white girls. Despite being nonsense and stupid, the simple presence of a foreign working at the organization transmits credibility. That’s one of the ways how many internships in India end up being a scam.
While working there, use the same phone number exclusively for work and share your personal number only with people you trust. Clients and workmates will send flirting messages, and invitations to go out to you as used to happen with my roommates. Remember that the Indian work environment is very formal and hierarchical in case of workmate feels comfortable investing his efforts in you while never dreaming to do so with an Indian girl.
Tips for women avoid troubles in India
So here are a couple of tips for women traveling in India without big troubles:
- Using a ring and telling you’re married/engaged/fiancée, etc. helps to cut many flirting intentions.
- Indians don’t like scandals. Taking advantage of social shame solves the problem if a man harasses you.
- If a man stares at you, take your eyes away from him. Confront will be understood as “Yeah, I want you!”.
- Avoid situations to be alone with a man whose company you dislike. If he invests in you, get out quickly!
- No provocative clothes, short skirts, etc. Cover your neck, your shoulders, and your legs. You find more details on what to wear in India in this post.
- Pay attention to invitations, VIP treatments, and show-offs. Women and couples usually don’t pay entry at clubs and bars. Guess why many guys will compete to go out with you! White girls are profitable and attractive for any event, enabling clubs to charge higher prices for entry.
- Although India is relatively safe, don’t walk in the streets at night. And travel in groups.
Taking care of those you trust already decreases by 50% the chances to fall into traps. The same on observing and not provoking local customs. I hope you had understood what is the main culture shock for many travelers in India, so as polemical to discuss.
Originally posted 2018-06-10 21:12:14.
