Blog 9: Woman in New Delhi

A woman shared her story about being harassed in her car while driving in the streets of New Delhi. A taxi driver pulled up beside her and began to shout sexist sexual remarks at her which alluded to his opinion that she should be with a man and not driving a car. The woman noticed that the driver was constantly honking his horn at her and then moved his car in front of hers in a way that blocked her from moving forward. After hearing the insulting remarks that were shouted at her she realized why he was so angry with her. She remembered that the driver had been behind her car and trying to pass. When he saw her at the stoplight and realized the person he had to wait behind was a woman he became angry.    

 Violence against women in New Delhi isn't unheard of and this woman was glad to have the luxury of her own car in exchange for not having to take public transportation. She believed that driving in her own car would be safer but learned the sad reality that she isn’t any safer from harassment in her car than if she'd taken the subway. She did call the police and someone came to take her complaint. The officer followed up on her complaint but charged the man with a lesser offense which led to him having to pay a fine for misbehavior. The harasser said he only asked her to drive properly.

It is always disturbing when I read about any kind of mistreatment of a woman. Even though there are worldwide efforts to try to bring greater equality when it comes to men and women and everyday there is a new story of a woman who is disrespected and left to deal with the effects.

 http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/women-drivers-in-delhi-face-frequent-sexual-harassment/

Ashley Lumsden

4/12/13 5:58 PM