US influencer lists countries ‘unsafe’ for women solo travellers; India included

“India was a country I always said I’d go to on a group tour instead of solo, but I happened to be nearby so I went, but hired a private driver who would drop me at destinations. When I was alone in the North, I always felt like someone was watching me, was uncomfortable having my phone out, and would even get called back to the car because the driver didn’t like the way people were looking at me,” Woodard shared her experience in India.

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A post shared by Sarah Woodard | Solo Travel & Outdoors (@sarahwoodardtravels)

With over a million views, the video evoked a conversation around the safety of women travellers in India. “The clip of the man checking you out (in India) was proof enough,” a user wrote. “I am a man and I still sometimes feels unsafe in India, it’s not so safe like other countries,” another user commented.

“As an Indian I confirm that whatever she is saying is true. There is no civic sense in people,” a third user reacted.

In April last year, a Spanish tourist, who was spending the night with her husband in Jharkhand, was allegedly gang-raped. They were on their bike tour and had visited 67 countries. In March this year, two women – one of them an Israeli tourist – were allegedly gang raped, and a male tourist from Odisha drowned after being pushed into the Tungabhadra River canal in the scenic Anegundi region of Karnataka’s Koppal district. According to the police, the attack took place on the night of March 6 and involved three local youths.