Female tourists told not to wear skirts in India

It’s no secret that India has a growing sexual violence problem. In the last few years, several high profile cases have hit the news, including the gang-rape that influenced the telling documentary, India’s daughter.

While India has acknowledged the issue, its tourism minister seems to be placing blame on women for the increase in sexual assaults. Case in point: over the weekend, Mahesh Sharma said females visiting the country should avoid wearing skirts.

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“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 said.

While most tourists understand that covering up is respectful in countries that hold certain religious beliefs, doing so to stop men from acting out seems ludicrous.

Naturally, now that there’s backlash, Sharma has reneged on his earlier comments, saying he simply meant not to wear skirts in religious areas of the country.

“I am a father of two daughters…I would never tell women what they should wear or not,” Sharma said. “Such a ban is unimaginable, but it is not a crime to be cautious.”

Ranjana Kumari, the director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research, called Shamara’s comments “very stupid”.

“The minister doesn’t realise the implications of such irresponsible statements. The remarks reflect the syndrome of blaming women for what they wear.

“But the problem is men and boys in India. They go for all kinds of misogyny and sexual acts, rapes and gang-rapes. It’s important for [Sharma] to have said how to punish the perpetrators of crime and stop the nonsense of ogling women and following them. Why should any girls come to India when it is becoming famous for not being safe to girls?”

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This isn’t the first time Sharma has come under fire for his comments however. Last year, he was criticised for saying women shouldn’t go out drinking at night.

“It may be alright elsewhere, but it is not part of Indian culture,” he said.

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