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It is best for women not to travel alone, especially if they have never been to India before. Many men in India think western women to be easy. Women are often subjected to being stared at, handled, peaked at through a hole in a hotel room door, and may receive obscene comments. These situations are not usually a serious threat.
It is important that women dress modestly. Women in India do not normally show their shoulders or knees, or wear tight fitting clothes, or shorts. It is best not to wear clinging, or low cut clothes. The bra-less look should be avoided.
Women usually do not shake hands with men, and certainly any physical contact beyond this is asking for trouble. Having a casual conversation with a man is considered a reason for a man to proceed further. Indian women and men who don’t know each other, unless they are highly educated, just don’t talk with each other in India. If you feel that a man is coming into your space, more than likely he is. Usually you can just request them to stay away from you. If someone touches you apparently innocently, it usually isn’t. Men do not touch women they do not know in India.
If you have a problem on a train or bus, approach the ticket collector and ask them politely to help you. If the ticket collector won’t help you, ask to see the conductor of the train. The conductor is usually a well-educated man, who you should speak to respectfully, and who will usually be helpful.
Groping is a normal thing. It is standard for women to be groped (handled) on the local trains in Mumbai. That is why there are separate compartments for women. Even just walking in the station, women can be handled. If a woman goes into a very crowded situation with many men, such as a bus, especially if she is by herself, it is not unusual for her to be groped. This happens with Indian ladies too.
If you are a woman traveling alone, it could be a good idea to travel by air-conditioned or first-class. There are much less passengers on these carriages, and they usually have had more contact with foreigners, so they are easier to deal with.
Women can request a ladies compartment in a 2nd class carriage of a train. Many trains have such a compartment. Also, most of the time there is a special ladies’ queue (line) for purchasing train tickets. This means that ladies can go to the front of a queue to purchase tickets for trains and no one will say anything. Most railway stations have ladies’ waiting rooms.
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