In a recent article in the Pune Times in India, a growing trend is noted. Solo women travelers of all ages are discovering the world beyond their cities and villages.
This is significant because women’s rights in India is dubious. There are tremendous social pressures for both men and women and arranged marriages are common. According to the Christian Science Monitor, selective-sex abortion is still a common practice. While banned by law, this practice claims approximately a half million girls a year as families favor having a boy.
For a country with such a track record with regards to sexism, this travel trend is encouraging.
For now, many of the women are traveling with tour groups to Thailand, Singapore, Mauritius and Switzerland. Though it is group travel, the key is that they are traveling and are being encouraged by their families to do so. One woman interviewed in the article says that it was her son and daughter-in-law that encouraged her to travel alone.
The gap between the privileged and the poor in India is wide and I can assume that it is the wealthy and educated that make up this trend. I would hope that the knowledge these women glean from their new experiences will not only help them better understand people around the globe but also their own corner of the world.
Of course, that’s my wish for all of us travelers 🙂
Happy Travels!
Kaushiki Sanyal says
Oh puhleeez, who are you to say that women’s rights in India is “dubious”??? Do you even realise how condescending it sounds!!! I thought travelling broadens the mind to the nuances of other cultures but whoever has written this still seems to carry the “white man’s burden” of civilising us “natives”!!
Beth says
This was supposed to be a positive article about the changes happening in India but I’m happy to address your concerns.
For one, I’m not trying to civilize the natives. I have great respect for the Indian culture and have no desire to change it.
As a traveler, am I not allowed to have an opinion about what I observe?
Condescending?? Really? You say this because I have doubts about women’s rights in India?
Women… who pay dowries… go to live with their husband’s family after marriage whether they want to or not… get banned to an ashram if they are widowed… who are burned/killed/wounded in “kitchen accidents” if their marriage isn’t working out?
Look, the US is not perfect, but you cannot deny that women here have far more rights than those in India. And, I, for one, am happy to see that changes are coming and that Indian women are stepping out…