India Safety: Female travellers

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India is a conservative country and some Western habits are perceived as dishonorable for a woman.

• Outside of the larger cities, it is unusual for people of the opposite sex to touch each other in public. Even couples (married or otherwise) refrain from public displays of affection. Therefore, it is advised that you do not shake hands with a person of the opposite sex unless the other person extends his/her hand first. The greeting among Hindus is to bring your palms together in front of your chest, or simply saying 'Namaste', or 'Namaskar'. Both forms are equally polite and correct, if a little formal. Almost all the people (even if they don't know English) do understand a "Hi" or a "Hello".

• Except in major cities (and only in trendy places or in high society) women do not smoke. A woman who smokes/drinks is associated with loose moral character in much of the rest of the country's growing middle class.

• Places such as Discos/Dance clubs are less-conservative areas. It is good to leave your things at a hotel and head down there for a drink and some light conversation.

• People are fully-clothed even at the beach. So, be sure to find out what the appropriate attire is for the beach you are visiting. In some rare places like Goa, where the visitors to beach are predominantly foreigners, it is permissible to wear bikinis on the beach but it is still offensive to go about dressed in western swim wear away from the beach. There are a few beaches where women (mostly foreigners) sunbathe topless but make sure there it is safe and accepted before you do so.

• It's not so safe to walk on the street if you are solo female traveller. Sex crime against tourists are occuring in some tourists spots. If you have to, you should wear dress modestly. Never walk on the street or take a taxi or auto-ricksaw with provocative clothes such as tight shorts, miniskirt, sports bra, tanktop, or other clothes which expose much skin.

• In local/suburban trains, there are usually cars reserved only for women and designated as such on their front. This reserved car is usually (but not always) the third last compartment.

• In most buses (private and public) a few seats at the front of the bus are reserved for women, Usually these seats will be occupied by men and, very often, they vacate the place when a female stands near gesturing her intention to sit there. In many parts of the country, women will not share a seat with a man other than her spouse. If you sit near a man, he may stand up from the seat and give the place to you; this is a sign of respect, NOT rudeness.

• Street parties for holidays are usually filled with crowds of inebriated men. During festivals such as Holi, New Year's Eve, and even Christmas Eve, women can be subjected to groping and sexually aggressive behaviour from these crowds, particularly in the northern and some western parts. It is unsafe for women to attend these festivities alone.

• Friendly conversation with men you meet on trains, etc. is often confused with flirtation/availability. In some scenarios, this can lead to unexpected sexual advances (this happens to Indian women as well, not just Westerners). Befriending Indian women, however, can be a wonderful experience for female travellers, though you might have to initiate conversation.

• It's not disrespectful for a woman to tell a man eager to talk to her that she doesn't want to talk - so if a man's behaviour makes you uncomfortable, say so firmly.

• Dressing in traditional Indian clothes, such as salwaar kameez (comfortable) or saree (more formal and difficult to wear) will generally garner Western women more respect in the eyes of locals. Show some enthusiasm for the traditional Indian way of life and you may find that men will treat you more like a 'lady' than an object.

• "Eve Teasing" is the most common term used in Indian English to refer to anything from unwanted verbal advances to physical sexual assault.