Hyderabad: A series of episodes shedding light on women’s safety in metro cities of India captures the stark contrast in a recent feature showcasing how safe is Hyderabad.
Hauterrfly, a lifestyle website produces a segment called 2 am stories. One of its broadcasts captures the unsettling reality of women in Hyderabad navigating the city at night, shedding light on issues of safety, infrastructure, and public behaviour.
The episode stars the associate editor of Hauterrfly, Janvi Manchanda, who begins her journey at Durgam Cheruvu Lake around 8:30 pm finding the area mostly deserted, possibly being a weekday. She highlights the absence of streetlights on the footpath raising a significant concern.
Janvi then takes the Hyderabad Metro but is taken aback by the near absence of female commuters. Its not even 10 pm. She points out that the women’s coach lacks a proper partition and dedicated security personnel, which could deter women from using public transport at night.
The situation intensifies when Janvi steps out of the station to find an auto-rickshaw. As she waits, a man on a two-wheeler repeatedly circles her, persistently asking, “Kahi chalna hai madam?” The unsettling encounter leaves her shaken.
Expressing concern over such incidents, Janvi questions, “If a woman in Hyderabad is travelling late at night in the metro or waiting for an auto, should she have to face this?” She wonders what would have happened had her media team was not present and she was all alone.
Janvi’s journey continues through other parts of Hyderabad where men shout from bikes and make inappropriate remarks. She questions the deep-seated bias against women travelling late stating, “Women who commute for work are assumed to be something else. How is that right?”
‘Never felt unsafe despite crowd in Charminar’
It is 11:30 pm now and Janvi is in Hyderabad’s Charminar. The anxiety she endured all this while took a positive turn after witnessing a buzzing environment with several vibrant shops open and families men, and of course women shopping and clicking pictures with the monument.
She described feeling at ease amidst the crowd. “Even though it was crowded, never did I once feel unsafe,” she said.
Government Safety Initiatives Fall Short
Janvi tested government initiatives aimed at ensuring women’s safety in Hyderabad. One such initiative, the T-Safe app, which is designed to track a user’s location when travelling in cabs, was found to be unavailable on iOS devices.
Additionally, the SHE Teams page which allows women to scan QR codes in public spaces to file complaints, failed to function. Upon scanning a QR code, the app did not work as intended, raising questions about the execution of these safety measures.
When Siasat.com tried to scan the QR code to verify Janvi’s claims, a message appeared after several minutes, stating, “This site cannot be reached.”
Hooliganism on the Rise in Hyderabad?
At 1:00 am, Janvi reached Necklace Road, a popular destination for night-time visitors in Hyderabad. She described that the atmosphere was starkly different with the area seemingly dominated by men and no women in sight. “Maybe they were uncomfortable assuming what a woman is doing out here so late, it was that gaze,” she said.
She also highlighted the discomfort of being watched, adding, “Men are not used to seeing women outside the house.” One particularly unsettling moment occurred when a man deliberately put on the brakes of his vehicle in front of the group, only to speed off when confronted.
Janvi also mentioned more incidents of hooliganism on Necklace Road with men riding motorbikes in triples, honking, whistling, and turning to smile at her. She expressed concerns about the safety of women in Hyderabad visiting such areas late at night and cautioned against travelling alone or in groups after dark. “As a tourist, you can visit here maybe in the early evening or early morning, but I wouldn’t advise coming alone at night,” she added.
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Her journey then took her to Shamshabad toll plaza at 2:30 am, a location marked by the tragic 2019 rape and murder of a female doctor, Disha. The 26-year-old veterinary doctor had been conned by four men who offered help after claiming her scooter had a flat tyre. She was then raped and throttled near a parked truck, her body was later found burnt in an underpass near the Hyderabad-Bangalore highway. The four men responsible for the crime were killed by police during a so-called crime scene reconstruction.
‘Never felt safe’
Reflecting on her experience so far, Janvi pointed out several infrastructure gaps. While areas like HiTech City known for its offices and clubs were well-lit, many older parts of Hyderabad lacked proper lighting. Additionally, she noted the absence of public toilets for women raising the question, “What are tourists and women travelling supposed to do when they need to use the washroom?”
She also expressed concerns about police presence at night. “Most of the time, police are not patrolling, and when they do, they are busy shutting down the city, closing the eateries that remain open late. It feels like they’re locking people inside their houses” she stated.
Summing up her experience, Janvi observed, “I have understood one thing about people here—they aren’t bothered about women. At night, not many women are seen on the streets of Hyderabad, and people don’t know how to behave.”
She concluded, “As a woman, I wouldn’t step out alone here because I never felt safe.”
Netizens share similar stories of safety in Hyderabad
Reacting to the video, many users shared similar experiences. One user, a Hyderabad resident, commented, “As someone from Hyderabad, I want to address the issue of washrooms for women in public places. While it’s true that there aren’t many, if you search carefully, there are some options. I wouldn’t recommend single women visiting certain places, but well-equipped petrol pumps offer washroom facilities. Though there aren’t many, there are a few spots where women can find washrooms. Government-owned washrooms exist, but they don’t operate late at night.”
Another user, also from Hyderabad shared, “I think this video shows more reality than people generally perceive. The areas you featured are actually unsafe, especially for women at night. Some places like Necklace Road and MG Metro Station are unsafe even during the day, particularly for women travelling alone. I often travel late at night using public transport, and I can confirm this video is quite real and accurately portrays the current state of Hyderabad.”
A male user agreed, stating, “Absolutely correct. I’m a male, and I would say it’s tough for men to travel alone too. While women face this kind of treatment, men also get harassed—whether it’s getting slapped or attacked by people on bikes or dealing with drunk people on two-wheelers.”
However, some users criticized the video’s analysis, with one writing, “This is a baseless analysis. You don’t know anything about Hyderabad, so stop making fake videos for views. Hyderabad has everything you claimed you couldn’t find.” Many other users also chimed in, urging, “Don’t make fake videos.”
