E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Richa Singh, 24, who works for an online travel portal, says, "women are seen as objects in this city, it doesn't matter what I wear, I still get stared at by men on the streets."
Since the death of a medical student who was gang raped on a bus in New Delhi the issue of women's security has been under the spotlight as never before in India. Mansi Thapliyal, a female Indian photographer working for Reuters, interviewed a variety of women in New Delhi to find out how they feel about their safety since the rape.
Reactions were strong and wide ranging, from women who now feel they need to arm themselves or take self-defense classes, to others who are scared to go out alone at night.
"My city is known as the so-called rape capital of the country," Thapliyal wrote in a blog post on Reuters.com. "They say it’s unsafe, it’s dangerous, and it’s full of wolves looking to hunt you down." Read her entire blog post on Reuters.com.
Thapliyal decided to focus her camera on the city’s women to find what they think about their security, and how they are protecting themselves. Below is a collection of her photos shot earlier this month, and made available to NBC News today.
Aanchal Sukhija, 19, studying fashion media communication, said that whenever she hires an auto rickshaw she has to send a short message to her father giving details of the auto in order to feel secure.
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Aanchal Sukhija waits for an auto rickshaw outside a metro station in Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi.
Nalini Bharatwaj, 37, chairperson of a management institute, says "Half of the time I am alone with my children and sometimes I have to travel late at night from work. It's enough to shut up anyone trying to molest me or even pass a comment if I flaunt my gun."
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Nalini Bharatwaj, holds a gun while posing in her office in New Delhi.
Deepshikha Bharadwaj, 24, who works for an advertising agency, has posted the notice that reads, 'Sorry I am not staying late now,' on her desk and said she wanted to send a message to her colleagues that she is not going to work late in the office anymore.
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Deepshikha Bharadwaj stands inside an elevator in her office on the outskirts of New Delhi.
Sweety, 22,a student, travels four hours every day from her village to the city to learn karate and taekwondo. She said, "boys in my village are scared to tease me after I beat up one boy who was passing lewd comments on me."
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Sweety, takes a self defense class in New Delhi.
Simrat, 24, who works for a non-profit arts organization, said, “I made the decision to use public transport as my primary way of moving through the city because I really believe that it is my right to be able to use public space, just as much as it is of any man."
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Simrat travels in the women's compartment of a metro in New Delhi.
Chandani, 22, who works as a cab driver for a social enterprise which claims to provide safe and secure cab services for women driven by women, said demand for their cabs has increased.
"I am doing a very unconventional job for women,” she said. “Given that I do night shifts, I carry pepper spray bottle and I'm trained in self-defense. Initially I faced a lot of problems but driving cabs at night has helped me to overcome my fears.”
Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters
Chandani sits inside her car on a street in New Delhi.
Leave a Comment:
Excellent work Mansi, a thoroughly thought provoking collection of photographs. I have been covering events too here in Delhi as I have just begun on a career in photojournalism: www.leept.co.uk
Keep up the good work!
Best wishes
Lee Thomas
Where the heck is the UK???????????????????????????
What the heck is wrong with the Indian government that they tolerate this sort of situation? They need to re-educate their police force, fire those cops who refuse to register or investigate complaints of rape and harrassment, prosecute every single case with alacrity, and stiffen the penalties. They need to STOP BLAMING THE VICTIMS!! And they need to start a re-education process in India, including something akin to our Drinking/Driving campaign, to stop the adulation of boys and men, and the systematic degradation of girls and women. That would be a good start.
Thank GOD I'm American!
Obama Biden & Hillary Are Scum yeah, there is no rape here, just mass shootings.
I'm not sure what Obama's comment is supposed to mean other than he's trying to incite drama like a 12 year old overly hormonal girl.
I think women everywhere no matter where they live need to learn to defend themselves. I just find it sad that the Indian government tends to look at women as lesser than animals.
The women there need to arm themselves!! A few dead rapists should send a warning to all men there.
Also here in the U.S.
What the heck is wrong with the Indian government that they tolerate this sort of situation? They need to re-educate their police force, fire those cops who refuse to register or investigate complaints of rape and harrassment, prosecute every single case with alacrity, and stiffen the penalties. They need to STOP BLAMING THE VICTIMS!! And they need to start a re-education process in India, including something akin to our Drinking/Driving campaign, to stop the adulation of boys and men, and the systematic degradation of girls and women. That would be a good start.
What did you expect....these people worshipped rats and cows. Need i say more...???
India--the United States have over one million immigrants from Indis--the people from India are great people but there are a certain few who are child molesters--rapist--no screening of immigrants--legal or illegal---over 35,000,000 illegal & legal immigrants in the US at this time
yea and how many of those,you suppose pay taxes!~!~!! one of our major probs with this country:(
You are incorrect. You are wrong.
People who come from India are highly skilled, highly educated professionals: doctors, scientists, engineers, etc.
All have intensive background checks done on them. Academic credentials are checked, references are checked, etc. Fingerprints are done, you have no idea....
As for the illegal immigrants who come from south of the border and elsewhere---there are no checks done.
Do not confuse legal and illegal immigration. There is a difference.
Yes but the Indians think they are WHITE duh
Public hanging for rapists! Quick, efficient justice as in Singapore that has no crime. Send them to Shiva, let them come back as cockroaches!!!
you said it~!~!
Because women have never lied about being raped right?
That is relatively rare compared to those Are raped. And it is no excuse for not investigating a rape crime properly.
Women of India - arm yourself and strike back without mercy! This male scum element needs to be eliminated from society.
Some of the male scum have mothers who taught them that rape is their right, that sonny boy can do no wrong.
Yeah- And that is the worst part! The women teaching it to their sons that it is OKAY!
Make it not a crime for a woman to seriously mame a man who attempts to molest or rape a woman or girl.
I still cannot believe that there are not any ropes available to take care of the rapists when they are caught! Maybe the cops can just leave the rapists chained together and turn them loose on bail to await trial. The defense attorney should also be chained together with the rapists, so everyone can see how corrupt and crooked he is, as well. If the rapists are convicted to die, their defense attorney should be executed along with them, for knowing they are guilty but lying to the court to try and get them off.
So a defense lawyer should be killed for doing his job? What type of sick wacho are you?
Brave and intelligent women--I am glad to see that women are taking steps NOW to protect themselves, not waiting for government/police to do it. And I hope that more do the same--and scare the (#@& out of the rapists and murderers over there. And BTW, I agree with Eve-1337029. But in the meantime before the government becomes more protective of India's women, women over there need to do whatever they need to to protect themselves. Even if India's government passed perfect laws and it's attitude became right overnight, India's women still need to provide for themselves--just as all law-abiding women and men the world over need to do, because sometimes police can't get there in time, even under the best of circumstances.
A society will have whatever it tolerates. If laws were enforced, rapes and sexual assaults would be less likely. Non enforcement is what allows this to happen.
One year ago when my 25 year old daughter was traveling by herself in India, she was pretty fearless. She honoured local dress and custom and, always covered up ~ loved most of the country. She loathed the way that she felt when looked at by men and women alike. She's a blonde, tall, Australian. On her last night she took a rickshaw to the airport and her driver was making comments that frightened her. When he turned down a dark side street and stopped, she started to scream. After hearing of the dangers of New Dehli, I believe that her screaming may have saved her from being raped or killed. She was badly traumatized by that encounter ~ and it seems to be the norm.
What your daughter experienced is not the norm. If she is ever travelling in the future, she may want to pay a little more money for a private taxi or limo service. The drivers are screened by the business owners. There are such services available in big cities that cater to tourists or business people.
The gang rapes in India will continue until the rapists start turning up dead! The penalty for rape should be death. No exceptions. If it happens on a bus, the driver is guilty, too. If the court will not hand out the death penalty, the citizens should buy some rope and reserve a tall village tree for the ceremonies. If a defense attorney argues that the woman 'wanted to be raped', he is guilty, as well and should attend the executions as a guest performer.
That comment makes you as disgusting as the rapists
Good for these women - fighting back and protecting themselves. Obviously no one else is going to do it for them. Why don't employers provide security for women working late? Not until they hold women in higher esteem and not as property will it change. But, a few dead rapists and this kind of world exposure may finally get some action - hopefully.