Page 39 - Masala E-magazine Vol 9 Issue 2 October - November 2017

Infrastructure Changes

Women are often afraid to travel alone in India, primarily due
to proximity issues between their place of work and home. In
2015, the government launched a campaign in mid-sized cities
to improve safety and security. These initiatives involve paying
attention to ‘problem areas,’ such as the walk between a woman’s
house and the train station, or the bus stop and her workplace.
The focus is again on adequate streetlights and CCTV coverage in
public areas.

Safety Apps on Smartphones

Technology, when used correctly, has the propensity to improve
our safety. There are dozens of recently launched smartphone
applications that can easily be downloaded, including the top rated
Safetipin, Himmat and Raksha.

Safetipin o ers essential services, such as the ability to be tracked
by friends and family via GPS pin, storage of emergency contact
numbers and directions to ‘safe’ locations. These safe locations are
user generated, whereby people are able to give scores to places
based on where they feel most safe and most in danger. Hence, the
app increases the safety for women in cities with the help of the whole
community. There is also a ‘scream’ function and an ‘SOS’ alert in the
case of a genuine emergency.
Other apps with similar functions include Delhi police supported
Himmat, which sends an alert directly to the police, and Raksha,
which sends distress signals simply by pressing the volume button
on your smartphone.

Tips for Solo or Group Female Travellers:

• Be culturally aware of your attitude and how you dress. No
one is asking you to cover your body from head to toe, but
dressing sensibly when travelling alone or in small groups is
important.
• Assert yourself. Indian women and men are known for their
rm and assertive nature, so being too polite won’t necessarily
get you anywhere. Be tough and con dent instead!

• When sightseeing alone or in small groups, join group tours
from well-established tour agencies to ensure your safety.

• Imitate the local women. Our main issue as OCIs is that
we generally stand out. So talk in Hindi, dress culturally
appropriately, and try to t in as much as possible.
• Don’t wander to new places alone at night.

• Always get an Indian sim card, know your emergency contact
numbers and don’t forget to download safety apps – our
favourite is Safetipin!

Masalathai.com | 39