A woman from Delhi recently shared her frightening experience on Reddit of harassment by an auto driver in Mumbai. The incident, shared via a viral Reddit post shared from the handle ‘MissPhysicist19’, has raised questions about the perception of safety versus ground realities in the financial capital of India.
The woman from Delhi, who was doing an internship in Mumbai, had a scary experience during a normal auto ride home. She had only been in Mumbai for three weeks and usually walked or took autos. One day, she got into an auto to get home faster, but she started feeling unsafe when the driver supposedly stopped to pick up another man, who seemed to be his friend.
According to her Reddit post, the new passenger immediately began to barrage her with intrusive questions, inquiring about her name and workplace. The woman wrote about the question asked in the Reddit post, such as “Naam kya hai aapka?”, “XYZ company me kaam krti ho?” (Do you work in XYZ company) and “kya krti ho?” (What do you do?)
The situation escalated when the man allegedly started “poking her waist” and as a gesture to ask for her phone number, causing the woman considerable discomfort and alarm.
Upon realising her panic, the two men reportedly attempted to reassure her of her safety. The woman, however, began to “snap back,” at which point the driver and his friend offered to stop the auto. She promptly agreed, exiting the vehicle, “shaking” from the experience.
Reflecting on the incident, the woman expressed her view that labeling a city as ‘safe or unsafe’ is inherently flawed, highlighting that she had never encountered such a distressing situation in Delhi. Her post, titled “Delhi v/s Mumbai from perspective of a 20 year old women who grew up in Delhi but moved to Mumbai for 2 month,” quickly gained traction and garnered numerous reactions online.
A Reddit user commented, “I’m sorry you had to go though all of that. That’s extremely disgusting. Creeps and shady people are present everywhere and mumbai ain’t no exception. Please stay safe”
Another user said, ”Women safety is a myth sadly. Sending you thoughts n prayers “