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Nidhi Shah is a chemical engineer by training who is passionate about bringing sanitation to the 626 million people in India who lack access to improved services.This endeavor brought her face-to-face with a rapist Uber cabbie and forced her to confront the dismal women's rights situation in her homeland.)
On November 26th 2014, I ate lunch at the famed Paranthe Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk within the heart of Delhi. Unable to find a trustworthy metered taxi to transport me to the next destination, I decided to use Uber, which, just a few days prior, had come highly recommended by a female Delhiite.
What transpired next was a long cab ride, during which I switched between looking up to see the cab driver staring at me, smiling creepily and examining my phone's map to make sure he wasn't taking me elsewhere. In my head, I stared back at him angrily, blurted "
kya hain?" and asked him to stop. In reality, I did none of those.
Why not? Was it the years of conditioning against saying anything to misbehaving men for fear of retribution? Was it the discomfort of confronting somebody? I suppose it was a bit of both. But, most of all, I wasn't convinced that doing so would make any difference. I thought of the words that had been iterated to me many a time, "it'll be over soon; just ignore it and it'll go away." These are the same words that compelled me to hide behind the driver's seat to avoid his filthy gaze instead of speak up.
At the end of my cab ride, Uber prompted me for feedback about the driver. I gave him 1 star ... had there been an option to give 0, I would have done so readily. Beyond the starred feedback, I quickly typed up that he had stared at me before rushing into my meeting.
Soon thereafter, I see a headline about an Uber driver raping a woman. My thoughts immediately race back to that uncomfortable cab ride. Curiosity gets the better of me and I try to find a news story. Photo of a guy with a black mask over his head. I imagine whether the eyes through the mask could be the same ones that looked at me lecherously. I read more of the article. There's a name, Shiv Kumar Yadav. I quickly pull out my email receipt. Sent by Shiv Kumar Yadav.
Blank. Expletives. Goosebumps. These three things, in order, comprise my response immediately following the realization that a week before he raped a woman, Shiv Kumar Yadav, rapist cabbie escorted me through Delhi. Had I been in his car alone, I might not have been lucky enough to escape. I didn't know what to do next as I didn't want to tell my family for fear of worrying them. Somehow, tweeting about the unnerving news, sending it out into emptiness - my Twitterverse - seemed comforting. Like screaming into space hoping somebody hears you and urges you to share what happened. And turns out you all did exactly that.
You showed an interest in what I have to say because of what I went through and because of my response to the experience. Honestly, I simply took the opportunity provided to give feedback about a truly horrendous man and the uncomfortable cab ride he provided.
In the aftermath of my discussion with news correspondents, I have had many conversations about what I think the future of India should hold. Sexual assault and harassment are all too common in India, and our attitudes in dealing with either have only made them worse. Many people have argued that these crimes are not unique to India. They come part and parcel with the human condition. Honestly, it is an irrelevant point to make. Let's talk instead of how to make India safer and more comfortable for everyone.
Let's take back India from men like Shiv Kumar Yadav who terrorize many women without punishment. Ignoring creeps like him have emboldened them into becoming repeat offenders committing heinous crimes. But how do we report such people and ensure that proper corrective action will be taken? I would argue that the most convenient opportunity anyone had to report this particular man was through Uber.
Uber reneged on its contract with the people of India when it did not take my feedback about Shiv Kumar Yadav seriously. Inadvertently, it created a space for him to rape a young professional woman. While it might sound difficult, I think Uber's responsibility in the coming days will be to reform its feedback management system and to vet every single driver that they have hired through the service.
But I hold, today, that Uber is not entirely the problem. Consider providers like Meru, EasyCabs, or just black and yellow taxis. Do you know how to provide feedback to these companies in case of unsatisfactory service? I certainly don't. Uber, to its credit, has provided a very important platform for its users to give immediate feedback about its service. Consider also that Shiv Kumar Yadav has had previous run-ins with the law and authorities and has been let off scot-free.
In light of the above, my first suggestion for improvement is that companies, governments, and other such organizations with the means to affect larger-than-individual-scale change have the responsibility of opening up channels of feedback. The owner of a company, the minister of a department, a society president - those with power have an obligation to protect those without. A taxi company must allow passengers to comment on driver skill, safety, cleanliness, and character. Similarly, governments must allow citizens to speak up about crime and injustice. At the moment, such lines of communication are unknown, obscure, inaccessible, or unreliable, if not all of the above. This is unacceptable. For a society to improve, feedback must be woven into the fabric of its daily life.
But, there is more to the equation. A simple invitation of feedback will not solve everything. Those who are affected by crime and injustice and ordinary citizens like you and me have a grave responsibility to communicate. I urge you all, today and from now on, to SPEAK UP. We must speak up when we observe immoral deeds. Don't take injustice sitting down. From what I know of this world, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So, squeak for justice; give detailed feedback often. You might believe you need an army of people on your side, but you don't. This experience has taught me that the platforms to create change and incite national dialogue are already in place today and moreover that a single individual can trigger the above. The opportunities to provide feedback are becoming increasingly available and accessible. It is now our time to voice displeasure about the wrong in our society. It is now our time to take back India.
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