An Indian woman who has been living in the United States for nearly two decades has shared her perspective on what she considers one of the biggest advantages of life in the country: the sense of safety she feels while stepping out alone. However, she also highlighted another side of living abroad, saying that loneliness can be difficult for some people.
Taking to Instagram, Shilpa Narula shared a video describing her experience after spending 18 years in the US. The clip was posted with the caption, “One reason I love living in the US: The sense of safety for women”.
‘Even if I’m walking alone at 2 am, I don’t have that fear’
Narula said one of the things she values most is being able to walk outside without constantly worrying about her surroundings.
{{/usCountry}}Narula said one of the things she values most is being able to walk outside without constantly worrying about her surroundings.
{{/usCountry}}“Hi everyone, my name is Shilpa and I live in America. So come on, let me share a good thing about living here and also set people’s expectations clear, because I have been living here for 18 years. People always talk about how the breeze is nice here, there are nice plants, it’s peaceful, and everything is good, as you can see. There's no one ahead or behind to bother anyone, right? The air, the water, everything is great; you can breathe freely in the open air.”
Speaking about safety, she added, “The good thing is that, look, if I’m out on the road here, ahead, behind, anywhere, and not just because it's 10:00 am right now, even if I'm walking alone at night at 11:00 pm, 12:00 am, or 2:00 am, I don’t have that fear. Right? That fear that someone will come up behind me, or someone will harass me.”
She then contrasted this with conversations around women’s safety in India, particularly the tendency to question what a woman was wearing or why she was outside late.
“Here, whatever I wear, nobody really cares, because people here have set the mindset that clothes are just clothes. They don’t judge a girl or a boy by them,” she said, adding, “So, changing the mindset is what's necessary. The air and water, well, you can still change that, but until your mindset changes, no country can ever truly progress.”
‘You often feel lonely’
Narula also spoke about what she sees as a drawback of living in the US.
“Yes, one shortcoming here that people find is that you often feel lonely,” she said. Reflecting on solitude, she added, “If you learn to enjoy being by yourself, your life is set!”
Watch the clip here:
Social media users react
The post has drawn a few reactions from users, many of whom agreed with her observations about safety and social attitudes. One user wrote, “Safety without fear is real freedom.” Another said, “The mindset point is so important.” A third commented, “Women should feel safe at any hour.” Another user added, “This is such an important perspective.”
(Also read: Indian woman in US shares what 9-to-5 work culture is really like: ‘At 5 pm sharp, everyone leaves’)
HT.com has reached out to the user for her comments, and the copy will be updated once her response is received.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)