Chandni Chowk, Part II

Why is Chandni Chowk not for a woman with a faint heart? I think because it is in North Delhi, which tends to be the more traditional and conservative area of the city. Being more traditional does give the streets a certain flair--the women are more often dressed in churidars then jeans, and the buildings, especially in the smaller alleys, are certainly reek of age and exoticism (cracked and carved archways, fading script over doorways, broken stone lattices).  However I'm finding that the more conservative parts of the city are somewhat less welcoming towards women, and perhaps towards western women in particular.

Now, before (and after) coming to Delhi I had been warned about how difficult this city can be for women, how patriarchal Indian culture is, and in particular, how gender-based violence permeates both the home and the streets. I know western women are portrayed in Indian media as being sexually-available, and so I arrived here half-expecting to be catcalled, pinched, and groped anytime I got within grabbing distance of an XY chromosome. I have been pleasantly surprised over the past few weeks to have been largely ignored by the male population of Delhi and, in fact, a bit embarrassed by how nervous I was upon my initial arrival.

But, for the past few weeks I'd been staying in South Delhi, which is where I live, and where I work. South Delhi tends to be more upscale then North Delhi and is also not a touristed part of the city. In fact, my first time seeing any tourists was in Chandni Chowk. I think the combination of South Delhi being wealthier, less conservative and less touristy than North Delhi means that western women are more likely to be viewed as (and more likely to be) keep-it-moving-nothing-to-see-here residents of the city.

Not so near Chandni Chowk. I hadn't even made it up the subway stairs when a detached voice whispered in my ear "Hello. This is your first time visiting India?" I didn't turn around or engage with the speaker, and no further whispers followed after the first. But I thought, Aha, so it's going to be like that, eh!

And over the next 2 hours as I wondered around with a studied grimace on my face I elicited some form of spontaneous comment about every 3 minutes or so. These ranged from the totally innocuous "Hello!" from children to the more urgent "You buy something, yes?" from vendors to the slightly threatening "Hello, sexy baby" from creepy adolescents. There was also a cacophony of bizarre sounding grunts, banging or kissing noises made in my general direction, usually from passing vehicles.

Every single person who spoke to me was male.

Now, no one actually approached me, stopped me, touched me and I would deem that about 70% of all comments were pecuniary rather than sexual in nature. And, to be fair, in those 2 hours I probably passed like, a million men (it was crowded!) so a relatively small percentage did in fact try to engage my attention. But still, the pervasiveness of the street harassment was both annoying (to me as a tourist) and unnerving (to me as a single female).

It was also bit heartbreaking, though perhaps not at all surprising, to note that most of the more "aggressive" sexual comments came from pre-teen boys (say 11 or 12) who were clearly trying to show-off to their mates by discomfiting a woman. I was considering scolding some of these offenders, but decided that any reaction from me might elevate their status amongst the adolescent audience.

All in all, the cacophony of comments was pretty annoying, but didn't ever feel threatening. Still, I don't think I'd like to walk around Chandni Chowk at night . . .