In a recent segment highlighting Hyderabad's high level of safety, a series of episodes focusing on women's safety in indian metropolises highlights the sharp discrepancy. 2 am Tales is a section produced by the lifestyle website Hauterrfly. One of its broadcasts highlights concerns about public behavior, infrastructure, and safety by capturing the uncomfortable reality of women in hyderabad navigating the city at night.
In the episode, Janvi Manchanda, the assistant editor of Hauterrfly, starts her expedition to Durgam Cheruvu Lake at 8:30 p.m. and discovers that the region is largely empty, presumably because it is a weekday. She draws attention to the serious issue raised by the lack of lamps on the walkway.
After that, Janvi rides the hyderabad Metro, but she is surprised to see how few women are there. Not quite ten o'clock had fallen. She notes that the absence of a suitable divider and specialized security guards in the women's coach may discourage women from utilizing public transportation after dark.
When Janvi leaves the station in search of an autorickshaw, the situation becomes more heated. As she waits, a man on a two-wheeler repeatedly circles her, persistently asking, “Kahi chalna hai madam?” She is shocked by the disturbing experience.
"If a woman in hyderabad is traveling late at night in the metro or waiting for an auto, should she have to face this?" asks Janvi, who expresses concern about similar events. She ponders what would have occurred if she had been left alone without the support of her media team.
As Janvi continues her trek, she encounters guys shouting from motorcycles and making offensive comments in different districts of Hyderabad. "Women who commute for work are assumed to be something else," she says, challenging the pervasive prejudice against women who travel late. How is that correct?
‘Never felt unsafe despite the crowd in Charminar’ Janvi is now at Hyderabad's charminar at 11:30 p.m. After seeing a bustling area with many lively stores open with families, men, and of course ladies shopping and taking photos with the monument, the uneasiness she had been experiencing all this time took a pleasant turn.
She spoke about being comfortable in the midst of the crowd. "I never felt unsafe, even though it was crowded," she remarked.
Government safety initiatives fall short Janvi evaluated government programs designed to protect women in Hyderabad. It was discovered that one such program, the T-Safe app, which tracks a user's location while riding in a taxi, was not compatible with iOS devices.
Furthermore, the SHE Teams portal that enables women to submit complaints by scanning QR codes in public areas did not work. The program did not function as planned when a QR code was scanned, which raised concerns about how these safety precautions were implemented. After a few minutes, india Herald received a notice saying, "This site cannot be reached," when they attempted to scan the QR code to confirm Janvi's assertions.
Hooliganism on the rise in Hyderabad? Janvi arrived at Necklace Road, a well-liked nighttime tourist attraction in hyderabad, around 1:00 am. She explained that the mood was very different, with no women in sight and the place appearing to be controlled by guys. She said, "Perhaps they were uneasy assuming what a woman is doing out here so late, it was that gaze."
Additionally, she emphasized how uneasy it is to be observed, saying, "Men are not used to seeing women outside the house." One especially disturbing instance was when a man purposefully applied the brakes of his car in front of the gathering, but when he was challenged, he quickly drove away.
Janvi also reported increasing instances of hooliganism on Necklace Road, where men in triples on motorcycles would turn and smirk at her while honking and whistling. She warned against traveling alone or in groups after dark and voiced worries about the safety of Hyderabadi women who visit these places late at night. "As a tourist, you might come here in the early morning or evening, but I wouldn't suggest coming here by yourself at night," she said.
Then, at 2:30 in the am, she arrived at shamshabad toll plaza, the scene of the horrific 2019 rape and killing of a female doctor named Disha. The 26-year-old veterinarian had been duped by four males who said her scooter had a flat tire and offered to help. Her corpse was eventually discovered burned in an underpass close to the Hyderabad-Bangalore highway after she was raped and throttled next to a stopped vehicle. During a so-called crime scene reconstruction, police executed the four guys who committed the crime.
‘Never felt safe’ Janvi identified several infrastructural shortcomings after considering her experience thus far. Many older portions of hyderabad lacked adequate illumination, although places like HiTech City, which is famed for its businesses and clubs, had good lighting. She further questioned, "What are tourists and women traveling supposed to do when they need to use the washroom?" in light of the lack of public restrooms for women.
Concerns over police presence at night were also voiced by her. Most of the time, police are not on patrol, and when they are, they are occupied with closing the city and any late-night restaurants. She said, "It feels like they're locking people inside their houses."
“I have realized one thing about people here—they don’t care about women,” Janvi said, summarizing her experience. people don't know how to act, and there aren't many ladies on Hyderabad's streets at night.
“As a woman, I would never go out here by myself because I never felt safe,” she said.
After a few minutes, india Herald received a notice saying, "This site cannot be reached," when they attempted to scan the QR code to confirm Janvi's assertions.
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