Female Tourists Should NOT Wear Skirts in India, says Tourism Minister

Owing to the National crime statistics that show 92 women are raped each day in India, mostly in rural areas, though the figure is widely believed to be an underestimate.  Coupled with street harassment and violence, sometimes called “eve-teasing”, experienced by 79% of Indian women according to a recent survey.

India’s tourism minister has proffered a solution advise to foreign women. Female tourist traveling to India should not wear skirts or walk alone at night in the country’s small towns and cities “for their own safety”.

Discussing tourist security in the north Indian city of Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, Mahesh Sharma said foreign arrivals to India were issued a welcome kit that included safety advice for women.


“In that kit they are given dos and don’ts,” he said on Sunday. “These are very small things like, they should not venture out alone at night in small places, or wear skirts, and they should click the photo of the vehicle number plate whenever they travel and send it to friends.”

He added: “For their own safety, women foreign tourists should not wear short dresses and skirts ... Indian culture is different from the western.”

The kit says: “Some parts of India, particularly the smaller towns and villages, still have traditional styles of dressing. Do find out about local customs and traditions or concerned authorities before visiting such places.”

It mirrors the UK Foreign Office advice to women travelling in India, which suggests they “respect local dress codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day”.



Source:theguardian