Female foreigners visiting India often have to deal with the issue of facing sexual harassment. Despite our country’s rich cultural heritage and diversity, many women foreigners encounter catcalling, unwanted advances and inappropriate behavior by the locals, especially men. In the past, incidents of foreigners being molested during festivals have made headlines. This makes us question – why aren’t there more stringent rules to make sure India has a safer environment for women to experience it at its glory?
Another female foreigner, a South Korean vlogger named Kelly, recently experienced unwarranted advances by a few local men in Pune who tried to hug her forcefully while she was recording a video of her adventures.
“Don’t stand so far. Hold her like this,” one guy says.
The entire incident has been captured on camera. Even though Kelly smiles at the camera while the guys try to hug her from behind, in the seconds following the incident one can see how uncomfortable she is and literally runs away from them.
“I have to run from here. They really like to hug, I don’t know why,” Kelly says.
Here’s a look at the portion of the video covering this incident:
The video has close to a million views on YouTube. Several Indians, who watched what happened, apologised to her on behalf of those shady men and advised her to be more careful and not be too friendly with the locals. Here’s a look at some of the responses to the video:
We as citizens need to make collective efforts to make sure that our country makes no female traveller feel unsafe. If you ever spot an Indian trying to catcall or harass a foreigner, step up and help the foreigner immediately.