India is a country of extreme contrasts. And ironies.
As recently as May 2017,
Cleartrip released a report that showed a discernible
jump in bookings made by Indian solo female travellers.
A whopping 65% of overall bookings across
India were made by people travelling alone, the report said,
and Hyderabad topped the list of cities that has
seen the most number of travellers taking off on their own.
Ironical then that Nupur Saraswat,
a Singapore resident,
was refused accommodation at Hotel Deccan Erragadda
because she was a single female traveller.
Saraswat was in the city for a spoken word art performance
and in her vociferous Facebook post said that the hotel refused her entry
because it was “not the right area for single women.”
The hotel also brandished its policy,
which states that “locals and unmarried couples” are not allowed.
She had made a booking at the hotel using Goibibo
and it was the latter that refunded her money
and even offered her a complimentary stay at a different hotel.
To be completely fair,
the hotel had stated its policies in the booking terms
and Saraswat’s organizer had missed out on that.
BUT.
Why should a policy like this be there in the first place?
Saraswat says in her FB post,
“I am not ready to live in the fear of my safety anymore.”
Yes, we agree.
Cleartrip’s data shows that 24% of solo female travellers
between April 2016 and 2017 were women.
This percentage is only going to rise.
Thank you Nupur Saraswat for bringing to light the big Indian irony.
*Pic courtesy Nupur Saraswat
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