In light of what has happened in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a 31-year-old resident trainee was raped and murdered, a lot of people have been questioning how safe women actually are in not just West Bengal, but also in the entire country. If you scroll through the internet, you will find many posts calling India the ‘rape capital’ of the world. Plenty have also been asking female tourists to not visit India to ensure their safety. Some Indian women have been sharing their desire to leave the country altogether.
Tanya Khanijow, a popular travel content creator and influencer with a significant social media following, took to X to ask her female friends abroad to not travel to India until our government creates a safer environment for women.
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“Please avoid coming to India at all costs,” she wrote.
Have a look:
Safety standards for women in India are horrible. My sincere request to all my women friends abroad. Please don’t travel here unless our dear leadership seriously creates a safer environment for women. Please avoid coming to India at all costs! #kolkata #RGKarHospital…
— Tanya Khanijow (@TanyaKhanijow) August 12, 2024
She also responded to some people who tried to counter her post saying that it is not just in India that crimes against women occur, but that it is a global phenomenon. To this, Tanya Khanijow claimed that she has travelled to at least 33 countries, including African countries, and it is safer than India. She added that every woman in India has a story where she has been molested, harassed, or assaulted by a man.
It is not just one incident. Speak to any woman and I bet, there’s not one woman who hasn’t experienced some form of assault or another. Myself included. NOT A SINGLE woman who hasn’t experienced some form of assault. Safety standards are very poor and it’s an India problem.
— Tanya Khanijow (@TanyaKhanijow) August 13, 2024
I’ve travelled to at least 33 countries including some African and it’s safer than India. Unless you’ve experienced abysmal safety yourself, I bet you won’t understand.
— Tanya Khanijow (@TanyaKhanijow) August 13, 2024
Several people criticized her for publicly shaming her own country and painting a rough picture of India to the world. Many pointed out how women, across the world, are unsafe. Here’s a look at some reactions:
You should be ashamed of yourself calling an Indian. The incident happened in one of the most peaceful states in India where a woman is a chief minister and she is the torch-bearer of democracy and you start abusing the whole of India for being unsafe for women!
People should…— Shantiswarup (ଶାନ୍ତିସ୍ବରୂପ) (@shantiswarup4u) August 13, 2024
WB doesn’t represent entire India, what happened is horrendous to say the atleast, but the above statement is totally uncalled for, I happened to see a video where a women’s top was pulled apart in broad day light in Spain, so Spain isn’t travel safe ?
— Neelam Choudhary (@nagarwall) August 13, 2024
Never met a woman here who wants to go back to India to settle down, they all rather be here alone. Not sure but it is just a lot of mindset, consciousness, awareness, and mentality issues
— Jena (@mehtaversed) August 12, 2024
U traveled across india to shoot ur travel diary for years..if u did not feel safe why did u travel across india alone…now sitting in Europe ur ranting about safety in India..Is UK completely safe with grooming Gangs around..Is US safe with madmen shooting randomly
— KO (@KAMALOBERO85678) August 13, 2024
Okay, brown girl. But foreign women are already having a great time in India, and their experience is nothing like what you told them it would be. 🤔
And imagine believing India is not safe when it is probably one of the safest countries in Asia. pic.twitter.com/Wd3W8INjyk
— Avici (@sacredrain) August 13, 2024
Respectfully, condemning India based on these incidents is both unfair and misleading. While it’s true that India, like many nations, has its flaws, suggesting that it’s uniquely unsafe is disingenuous. According to data, 1 in 3 women worldwide has faced some form of physical or…
— Priti Jain (@mepritijain) August 14, 2024
Raising voice for the victim is one issue, and painting the whole country with one brush & deeming it unsafe on an international platform in front of the whole world is another. This is just blatant misuse of the incident.
One can show hundreds of incidents of rape from West too,…— Aishwarya Vashishtha (@goaloflife) August 14, 2024
Speak to any woman in US, Europe and UK and then make these claims. Women have to be alert and careful wherever they are including homes and amongst friends but asking women not to travel to India at any cost is irresponsible behaviour and implies either you are paranoid or…
— Sharmishta Sharma (@AnObserversView) August 14, 2024
A lot of Indian women might think that moving abroad is the solution; that they would be safer in the West. This idea comes from our collective mentality to idealise the West. We look at Western countries as though they are incredibly progressive, advanced and safe. But that is not the case.
We did some digging online and found credible reports that suggest otherwise.
There have been studies that show countries like the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and the Netherlands have a much higher rape rate than India.
India has a rape rate of 1.81. The country that has the highest rape rate is Botswana – 92.93. South Africa is at 72.10, the US is at 27.21 and the UK is at 27.29.
According to World Population Review data, only 9% of rapists in the US get prosecuted, and only 3% of rapists will spend a day in prison, while 97% of rapists in the United States will walk free, reported The Business Standard.
The countries that have the least amount rape are Egypt, Azerbaijan, Mozambique, Armenia and Lebanon.
Yes, India has a long way to go when it comes to ensuring women’s safety. But to suggest women to settle in a foreign country sets a very dangerous example. One might be influenced to settle in a country which is more unsafe for them.