Is India really safe for foreign female tourists? Over the past few weeks, a new debate has erupted on social media and news channels regarding the behavior of Indian tourists abroad and our treatment of guests visiting India. Meanwhile, a video mirroring our slogan of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ is going viral on the internet. Solo traveler Hannah from Japan has released a ranking of cities after her three-month trip to India, which has raised big questions on the country’s tourism departments and security claims.
Hannah not only appreciated the beautiful experiences of India, but also exposed the bitter truths that foreign women usually have to face. They have released a list of the 5 most unsafe cities of India, citing incidents like sexual harassment, stalking and falling seriously ill. Let us know which cities of India are the most stressful for women in the eyes of this Japanese traveller.
Bitter experiences amidst beautiful valleys
On June 10, Hannah shared a video on social media and openly shared her experiences with the world. He gave a warning at the beginning of the video saying that this vlog contains mention of some incidents which can make anyone uncomfortable. He said, ‘As a Japanese citizen, this is my personal assessment of places to visit in India. I spent three months alone in India. To be honest, most of the places were very beautiful and I met some very lovely and kind people here. But during this journey, I also had to face terrible situations like stalking and sexual harassment. This list is of the places where I felt most unsafe as a Japanese solo female traveler.; This story of Hannah is not just a travel vlog, but it tells the real ground level of a single woman’s safety in different corners of India.
Guwahati
North East India is generally considered quite safe and friendly for women compared to other parts of the country. But in Hanna’s list, Assam’s major city Guwahati is at fifth place. Hannah clarified that no direct untoward incident or crime happened to her there. Despite this, she did not feel comfortable walking alone on the streets of Guwahati compared to other states or cities of the North-East. The constant staring eyes of people and the feeling of being alone were making him uncomfortable.
New Delhi
The country’s capital New Delhi did not live up to Hanna’s expectations on both security and health fronts. Hanna placed Delhi at number four. He told in his video that he visited Delhi three times during his three-month journey. But the surprising thing was that every time she came to Delhi, she fell seriously ill. Delhi’s poisonous air, pollution and perhaps lack of coordination in food habits affected his health to such an extent that he started feeling that Delhi and its stars were not compatible with each other.
Mumbai
Mumbai is often considered the safest metropolis of India, where women can roam around without fear even at night. But Hannah’s experience was quite the opposite, which brought Mumbai to third place in her list. Hannah shared with a heavy heart that she faced direct sexual harassment in Mumbai. This one horrifying incident completely changed his perspective about Mumbai. Now whenever she thinks of Mumbai, instead of safety, those painful and scary memories come alive in her mind.
Raxaul
Raxaul, the border town in Bihar that connects India and Nepal, was one of the most stressful experiences for Hannah. Hannah has placed it at second place. When she returned to India via Raxaul after completing her trip to Nepal, she had to struggle a lot to find accommodation. Many hotels flatly refused to give her a room just because she was a foreign national. At the same time, the few hotels that agreed, found a single foreign woman helpless and demanded many times more money than normal. According to Hannah, this kind of behavior at an unknown place was extremely mentally harassing.
Varanasi
This was the most shocking part of this entire list. Hanna has placed Varanasi, the spiritual city and city of ghats, at the first place in terms of insecurity. However, the paradox is that Varanasi is also his favorite city in the whole of India. Hannah told that the culture and beauty of Varanasi won her heart, but it was in this city that she saw the most dangerous aspect of her entire journey. Here he was chased many times. Recalling that scary moment, Hannah said, ‘There came a time in Varanasi when I was really scared. I felt that enough is enough, the consequences of this could be very bad for me. I had never before felt such a great threat to my physical safety.
Perspective on India
Despite such bad and bitter experiences, Hannah has no hatred towards India. Like a mature traveller, he said a very beautiful thing at the end of the video. He clarified that calling these cities unsafe does not at all mean that these are the worst places in India. He said that journeys are not always straightforward and easy, they are complex. Sometimes a place can be both very beautiful and very challenging for you at the same time. Hannah clarified that this ranking is based entirely on her personal experiences, and it is possible that another traveler’s story and experience may be completely different.
Social media anger erupted, countrymen apologized
As soon as this video of Hannah went viral on social media, a debate broke out among internet users. A large number of Indians, especially residents of those cities, apologized to Hanna in the comment section. A female user from Mumbai wrote, ‘Being a Mumbaikar, I completely agree that girls are not safe even on our streets. People may claim about our safety, but this is the reality. The air of Delhi is not fit to breathe anyway, it was natural for you to fall ill. A citizen of Guwahati said very emotionally, ‘Being a resident of Guwahati, I feel extremely sad and embarrassed to know that you had to feel uncomfortable in our city. We apologize for this. Some users wrote that traveling alone in India is a big risk for any woman. Some people advised Hannah to go to Nagaland, Mizoram or South Indian next time, where the environment is considered more safe and respectable for women.
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