prasad1
Active member
An immigration officer at Mumbai airport played Taliban-style moral police recently, questioning a woman on why she was travelling alone. Worse, he held that if she had been allowed to go backpacking alone, her family background was questionable.
Two months ago, a 21-year old Indian woman planning to backpack across Europe had the misfortune of walking up to this officer's desk and facing a barrage of uncomfortable questions to clear immigration. She was due to board a flight to Abu Dhabi from where she had to take a connecting flight to Paris.
"I was not only treated rudely, but also insulted and humiliated. In the end, before stamping my passport, he said that I should not go crying to the Indian embassy if something untoward happened to me," said Aditi Prakash (name changed on request).
Immigration officer plays moral police, asks woman why she was travelling alone - The Times of India
Why am I not surprised?
Recounting her ordeal Aditi said, "He asked me why I was travelling alone and when Ireplied that I am a 21-year-old adult and I can travel alone, he said women should not. He said he would have posed this question to even a 50-year-old woman if she were travelling alone." She added, "When I asked him why he didn't question the male passengers, he said that my job was to answer questions and not to ask them."
The officer then went on to interrogate her about her backpacking trip. He wanted to know how her parents could let her travel alone. He inquired about their profession. The girl had lost her father and her mother is a teacher. He asked how her family got the money for the trip. Her motives for the trip were questioned . He also wondered whether her parents were "respectable people" as they had allowed her to travel alone.
Two months ago, a 21-year old Indian woman planning to backpack across Europe had the misfortune of walking up to this officer's desk and facing a barrage of uncomfortable questions to clear immigration. She was due to board a flight to Abu Dhabi from where she had to take a connecting flight to Paris.
"I was not only treated rudely, but also insulted and humiliated. In the end, before stamping my passport, he said that I should not go crying to the Indian embassy if something untoward happened to me," said Aditi Prakash (name changed on request).
Immigration officer plays moral police, asks woman why she was travelling alone - The Times of India
Why am I not surprised?
Recounting her ordeal Aditi said, "He asked me why I was travelling alone and when Ireplied that I am a 21-year-old adult and I can travel alone, he said women should not. He said he would have posed this question to even a 50-year-old woman if she were travelling alone." She added, "When I asked him why he didn't question the male passengers, he said that my job was to answer questions and not to ask them."
The officer then went on to interrogate her about her backpacking trip. He wanted to know how her parents could let her travel alone. He inquired about their profession. The girl had lost her father and her mother is a teacher. He asked how her family got the money for the trip. Her motives for the trip were questioned . He also wondered whether her parents were "respectable people" as they had allowed her to travel alone.
