Mahesh Sharma, tourism minister of India, created a controversy following his comment that women tourists travelling to the country should not wear skirts or venture out alone in the night.
However, it seems like the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom (UK) has issued similar advice and tips to women tourists visiting India, requesting them to "use caution," when they travel across the country. They have also cited some incidents where British women were allegedly sexually harassed or assaulted in the country.
The British advisory states: "Reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls are increasing; recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women are also at risk. British women have been the victims of sexual assault in Goa, Delhi, Bangalore and Rajasthan and women travellers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men."
"If you are a woman travelling in India you should respect local dress codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day. (Think) about how your clothing will fit in with local customs – what are local women wearing?" the advisory states, offering "travel tips for women travellers."
It further adds that tourists should not travel in areas that are extremely close to the border with Pakistan except Wagah.
"Be wary of confidence tricksters, particularly in Goa, Agra and Jaipur, who promise large amounts of cash for delivery of jewellery abroad. The jewellery is worthless and the deposit, often amounting to thousands of pounds, is lost," the advisory states.
More than 800,000 British nationals travel to India annually and most visits are trouble-free, the Foreign Office said. However, several cases of tourists getting into trouble have been reported.
Sharma had said that tourists were being given a "welcome kit" containing a card with "a list of dos and don'ts" upon their arrival at the airport.
"It has instructions like if they are in small cities, they should not roam around alone at night or wear skirts. They should take a picture of the car they are travelling in and send it to a friend as precaution," he had said, adding that India had a different dress code for temples. Kindly keep that in mind while dressing up."
However, Sharma had later clarified that he had given the statement out of "concern" and "in the context of religious places."
