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‘Khauf’(Again) Instills Fear in Indian Women Living in Delhi
A latest web series reminds Indian women — and leaves some terrified — of the horrid living conditions that India’s capital city has to offer
Time: 2:19 AM.
Year: 2022.
Place: Delhi, India.
My female friend and I are traveling from our mutual friends’ place — located on the outskirts of Delhi — back to my apartment in Vasant Kunj: a posh and supposedly safe neighborhood in the Southern part of the city.
We are mildly intoxicated, but once we enter the hired cab, all that intoxication flies out the window.
Our bodies are now tense, and my friend’s gaze is glued to the glove compartment.
She’s terrified of the man behind the wheel, which can be contagious among women in Delhi.
“Pal, wouldn’t it be utterly stupid if someone attacked us? We are journalists, after all. Our assault would never go unnoticed,” my friend says out loud.
“And murder? Oh my God, that man’s life and that of his future generations would be DESTROYED. Our crime reporter friends and the judicial system would not spare him. It’s either the death penalty or prison-mob justice.”