<p class="bodytext">It is shameful that two visiting Australian cricketers were stalked and molested in Indore last week. The cricketers who are in India for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup had stepped out of their hotel and were walking towards a café when the offender approached them and touched one of them inappropriately. Police have claimed that the molester was caught soon, but that is poor consolation, coming after the incident, which happened in a public space. Answers are due from the city and its administrators, but the act also shows India in a poor light.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The incident is a huge embarrassment for a country that aspires to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympic Games. While the state cricket authorities have hinted that the two players possibly violated the security protocol, the Australian team has denied it. Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said the players should have informed the security or the local administration before leaving the hotel. The cricketer is being blamed for the attack, but this is a familiar pattern in similar cases reported in India. She is blamed for being at the place where she was during the attack, though the State has the responsibility to ensure the safety of women at any and every place. The claim that Indore has been considered a ‘safe city’ is not tenable against the backdrop of such an incident.</p>.Australian women cricketers molested in Indore, stalker caught within hours.<p class="bodytext">The case is a wake-up call for the enforcers of law and order, tourism authorities, and organisers of international events. Foreigners, particularly tourists, are regarded as soft targets in the country. Recently, a Brazilian model was allegedly molested by a grocery delivery agent in Bengaluru; earlier this year, a French woman was allegedly raped in Rajasthan. These cases should not be seen in isolation. They reflect an alarming, yet normalised, lack of safety for women. The priority here should be in assuring women, foreign or Indian, a safe environment to be. The Indore molestation has hit headlines outside <br />India; these violations also sully the country’s <br />image. Some countries, including the US, the UK, and Australia, have issued travel advisories to women who visit India. Many times, these alerts have come true. The Commonwealth Sport General Assembly is to make a decision on Ahmedabad hosting the Games. India has also made a pitch for the Olympic Games in 2036. Transgressions such as the Indore incident do not go well with such ambition.</p>
<p class="bodytext">It is shameful that two visiting Australian cricketers were stalked and molested in Indore last week. The cricketers who are in India for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup had stepped out of their hotel and were walking towards a café when the offender approached them and touched one of them inappropriately. Police have claimed that the molester was caught soon, but that is poor consolation, coming after the incident, which happened in a public space. Answers are due from the city and its administrators, but the act also shows India in a poor light.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The incident is a huge embarrassment for a country that aspires to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympic Games. While the state cricket authorities have hinted that the two players possibly violated the security protocol, the Australian team has denied it. Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said the players should have informed the security or the local administration before leaving the hotel. The cricketer is being blamed for the attack, but this is a familiar pattern in similar cases reported in India. She is blamed for being at the place where she was during the attack, though the State has the responsibility to ensure the safety of women at any and every place. The claim that Indore has been considered a ‘safe city’ is not tenable against the backdrop of such an incident.</p>.Australian women cricketers molested in Indore, stalker caught within hours.<p class="bodytext">The case is a wake-up call for the enforcers of law and order, tourism authorities, and organisers of international events. Foreigners, particularly tourists, are regarded as soft targets in the country. Recently, a Brazilian model was allegedly molested by a grocery delivery agent in Bengaluru; earlier this year, a French woman was allegedly raped in Rajasthan. These cases should not be seen in isolation. They reflect an alarming, yet normalised, lack of safety for women. The priority here should be in assuring women, foreign or Indian, a safe environment to be. The Indore molestation has hit headlines outside <br />India; these violations also sully the country’s <br />image. Some countries, including the US, the UK, and Australia, have issued travel advisories to women who visit India. Many times, these alerts have come true. The Commonwealth Sport General Assembly is to make a decision on Ahmedabad hosting the Games. India has also made a pitch for the Olympic Games in 2036. Transgressions such as the Indore incident do not go well with such ambition.</p>
