It is impossible to make a single statement on this without judgement, implications and insinuations. Even the act of selecting and presenting the stories and details forms part of this judgement. At my more frustrated moments I would let dark words slip, but now I write simply a list of the stories I have heard. I have tried to avoid including hearsay, and stick only to what I have heard directly from the recipients, and the few cases I have observed myself. I am not without awareness that there are a complex set of cultural norms in India, which foreigners may often breach, but this is only part of the situation. There are many aspects which must moderate any reaction, for example it may also be far more likely to encounter mental illness on the street.
There are two important footnotes to consider on my reporting. 1,2
From an English woman in Dharamshala. She recounts being followed on the road from the next town by a man masturbating and shouting "one kiss, one kiss". She believes the problem has got worse in the 10 years since she first visited India.
From a woman in Dharamshala. She describes being followed through the streets by a man, who continues to follow her inside her hotel. After she has closed the door to her room he bangs and shouts "How much" repeatedly. The Hotel staff are alerted and as you can imagine, the man is vastly outnumbered.
From a Dutch woman in Manali. She recounts how the owner of the lodge where she is staying said "We're full, but you can stay with me" (implying his room). On its own perhaps not so shocking, but he later adds to this and claims to have slept with over 50 tourist girls.
Personally observed. A Russian woman is travelling on a bus in Goa. A man standing behind her seat is staring at her, and making some strange, disturbing and suggestive gesture. He watches her, spits on his fingers and then rubs this on the back rail of the seat, as if rapidly stroking it. He continues this for some time, without distraction.
Personally observed. A rickshaw driver in Madhya Pradesh slows down and leans out of his rickshaw to stare at a young Hindu girl. This isn't subtle, or simply distraction, he is leaning half out of his vehicle making a clear point of eyeing her up from just a few meters distance. She is possibly around 16 years old, and disturbed by this, starts to walk much faster.
From a Swiss woman in Ladakh. When alone in her room, in a house under construction, the construction workers form a crowd around her open door and stare at her in silence. Note 3
From an English girl in Tamil Nadu. She and two other friends leave the city where they are staying for the weekend, and check into a hotel in a city several hundred kilometers away. Later, on returning to the hotel, they discover the receptionist from their previous hotel is inside their room. He had access to their travel plans, and somehow managed to talk his way into the hotel.
From a German girl, recounting time in Delhi. She and a friend are standing on a second floor balcony, an Indian man approaches in the street below, drops his trousers and beings masturbating. Female Indian friends told her she should have thrown something (harmful) at the man.
From an English girl, living in Gokarna. From her experience over several years she recounts how an Indian man staying at the largely tourist location was caught staring into a hut occupied by a tourist girl. This was possible as construction is rarely solid, and some rooms are constructed only from palm and bamboo.
Personally observed. On the tourist beach of Gokarna, where the tourists conform far less to Indian norms, groups of men turn up at the weekends. While normally limited to staring and taking photos, they sometimes form circles around single women on the beach, often followed by the tourists fleeing the situation. In some occasions, especially in the water, there are attempts at touching. It is recounted and I have observed lodge owners persuading offending men to leave the beach, while carrying a machete.
Personally observed. While briefly standing in a road in Delhi with a European woman, she suddenly lets out a shocked 'ow'. An Indian man has pinched her bottom, and walked hastily off before I'm even aware what country I'm in.
Personally observed. A man lies down on a station platform and covers himself with a blanket, he is facing an Indian family with a man, woman and two children. He then masturbates under the blanket, before getting up and walking off. It is not clear which member of the family he was watching.
1. I try and avoid the mistake of some personal reporting of harassment which involves introducing the perceptions of the aggressor. Mentioning whether he was seen as "creepy", "strange" or "unattractive", in general any description to this effect, implies this was a factor in the act transgressing acceptability.
2. I have used girl and woman interchangeably. Reviewing my own unconscious selection it has little correlation to either age or my own intentions. In the modern usage, I see 'woman' simply as formal, and 'girl' informal.
3. This is only an example of the multitude of stories which involve men staring. The consequence of unbroken eye-contact is often fear. This is a broad spectrum of levels of interpreted behavior.
There are two important footnotes to consider on my reporting. 1,2
From an English woman in Dharamshala. She recounts being followed on the road from the next town by a man masturbating and shouting "one kiss, one kiss". She believes the problem has got worse in the 10 years since she first visited India.
From a woman in Dharamshala. She describes being followed through the streets by a man, who continues to follow her inside her hotel. After she has closed the door to her room he bangs and shouts "How much" repeatedly. The Hotel staff are alerted and as you can imagine, the man is vastly outnumbered.
From a Dutch woman in Manali. She recounts how the owner of the lodge where she is staying said "We're full, but you can stay with me" (implying his room). On its own perhaps not so shocking, but he later adds to this and claims to have slept with over 50 tourist girls.
Personally observed. A Russian woman is travelling on a bus in Goa. A man standing behind her seat is staring at her, and making some strange, disturbing and suggestive gesture. He watches her, spits on his fingers and then rubs this on the back rail of the seat, as if rapidly stroking it. He continues this for some time, without distraction.
Personally observed. A rickshaw driver in Madhya Pradesh slows down and leans out of his rickshaw to stare at a young Hindu girl. This isn't subtle, or simply distraction, he is leaning half out of his vehicle making a clear point of eyeing her up from just a few meters distance. She is possibly around 16 years old, and disturbed by this, starts to walk much faster.
From a Swiss woman in Ladakh. When alone in her room, in a house under construction, the construction workers form a crowd around her open door and stare at her in silence. Note 3
From an English girl in Tamil Nadu. She and two other friends leave the city where they are staying for the weekend, and check into a hotel in a city several hundred kilometers away. Later, on returning to the hotel, they discover the receptionist from their previous hotel is inside their room. He had access to their travel plans, and somehow managed to talk his way into the hotel.
From a German girl, recounting time in Delhi. She and a friend are standing on a second floor balcony, an Indian man approaches in the street below, drops his trousers and beings masturbating. Female Indian friends told her she should have thrown something (harmful) at the man.
From an English girl, living in Gokarna. From her experience over several years she recounts how an Indian man staying at the largely tourist location was caught staring into a hut occupied by a tourist girl. This was possible as construction is rarely solid, and some rooms are constructed only from palm and bamboo.
Personally observed. On the tourist beach of Gokarna, where the tourists conform far less to Indian norms, groups of men turn up at the weekends. While normally limited to staring and taking photos, they sometimes form circles around single women on the beach, often followed by the tourists fleeing the situation. In some occasions, especially in the water, there are attempts at touching. It is recounted and I have observed lodge owners persuading offending men to leave the beach, while carrying a machete.
Personally observed. While briefly standing in a road in Delhi with a European woman, she suddenly lets out a shocked 'ow'. An Indian man has pinched her bottom, and walked hastily off before I'm even aware what country I'm in.
Personally observed. A man lies down on a station platform and covers himself with a blanket, he is facing an Indian family with a man, woman and two children. He then masturbates under the blanket, before getting up and walking off. It is not clear which member of the family he was watching.
1. I try and avoid the mistake of some personal reporting of harassment which involves introducing the perceptions of the aggressor. Mentioning whether he was seen as "creepy", "strange" or "unattractive", in general any description to this effect, implies this was a factor in the act transgressing acceptability.
2. I have used girl and woman interchangeably. Reviewing my own unconscious selection it has little correlation to either age or my own intentions. In the modern usage, I see 'woman' simply as formal, and 'girl' informal.
3. This is only an example of the multitude of stories which involve men staring. The consequence of unbroken eye-contact is often fear. This is a broad spectrum of levels of interpreted behavior.
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