26 June,2017 02:00 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old artist, Nupur Saraswat, denied permission to stay in a Hyderabad hotel because she was a single woman traveling alone
Nupur Saraswat. Pic/Nupur Saraswat's FB page
If you thought that patriarchy in India is slowly waning, think again. In a recent incident a 22-year-old artist, Nupur Saraswat, was denied permission to stay in a Hyderabad hotel because she was a single woman traveling alone.
In a report by NDTV, Nupur Saraswat was traveling around India for her shows and had booked her stay in Hotel Deccan Erragadda, Hyderabad using Goibibo. The 22-year-old, arrived at the hotel on Saturday morning only to find that she was not allowed to stay in the room she had booked and confirmed for herself. In a Facebook post, Nupur wrote, "So, I am standing outside a hotel in Hyderabad which didn't let me stay because they realized I was a "single lady" even after confirming the online booking." The post went viral with over 1000 shares and 1600 reactions.
Nupur then went on to post about the hotels policy that stated 'single women not allowed' and questioned travel portal Goibio on how her booking was accepted even though the hotel had such a policy in place.
Nupur Saraswat's FB post
The website then quoted Nupur as saying that a representative from Goibibo had reached out to her and promised her that they would look into the incident. They also put her up in a complimentary stay in a different hotel that allowed single women in its premises. Reacting to the article, Gioibibo CEO Ashish Kashyap shared a statement on Twitter which said that they take such issues very seriously and have unlisted the hotel pending investigation.
The Goibibo statement also had a response from the hotel that justifies it's policy by saying that the locality was not safe for women to stay, and that no other hotel in the same area would allow single women to stay.
Goibibo statement
In response, Nupur raised an issue that supersedes filters and booking platforms. In a Facebook post she said: "I want to see a safer space for women who travel alone."
"There are also those who have tried to silence this by asking "why are you making a fuss if it's clearly stated in the policy?". Well I am making a fuss because I am not ready to settle. I am not ready to live in the fear of my safety anymore. I am not ready to have an entire system push me around until I "find a man to travel with"
