‘Buy alcohol, get comments and stares for free’

Women in the country have faced harassment while travelling, partying at a pub, or even watching a movie. Although buying liquor from a wine shop might not be as common as the above tasks, it brings with itself, its fair share of harassment for women all over the country. On Monday night, two women in their twenties were groped, molested, and asked for ‘their rate’ by a group of men on Gurgaon’s MG Road, after they bought alcohol from a store located there.The five-minute walk from the store to an auto-rickshaw turned into a horror story for the two. Across Doon, women of all ages say that while such incidents might be extreme, the fact that a woman feels scared, isolated, and uncomfortable when buying alcohol from a liquor store holds true for almost all of them.

While I would often go to thekas to buy beer after office, this one time, the situation got really scary. There were a lot of drunk men at the theka who were standing in front of the counter and they were not giving me space to pass. I somehow managed to reach the counter. When I asked the shopkeeper for beer, the men started passing comments. It got worse when a man tried to touch me inappropriately. I got so scared that I hurried out of the shop
— Seema* from Chandigarh who is working in Doon

There are no upscale liquor shops in my area but there are three thekas. While hundreds of men buy liquor from there daily, you can hardly see any woman there. We recently had a party at my place and my brother and I had to buy some beer. as there were long queues at all the thekas, so to save time, both of us decided to go to two different places and see who can get beer first. And I had a terrible experience while waiting at the store by myself. Two men started moral policing, telling me things like a girl should know her limit. One of them even said meri beti hoti to mein maar hi dalta isko. Fortunately, before they could get more aggressive, my brother came and we left the place.
-Shubhi*, a resident of Dharampur

I thought people in Doon are open-minded but my experience at a theka changed my perception

Whenever I want to buy liquor, I always go to an upscale store that is a little far from my place. But last week, since it was raining heavily, I decided to go to a nearby theka. That one day changed my perception about people in Doon. I used to think that people here are very cool and open-minded but my experience at the theka proved me wrong. All the men at the store were staring at me and half of them even passed nasty comments. They said things like ek ladki ko ek dehliz me rehna chahiye aur aaj kal ladkiyan khud hi aise kaam karti hai aur baad mein roti rehti hai. Some of them even tried pushing me. Initially I ignored them but later, even I pushed them and answered them back.
- Priya*, a resident of Rajpur Road

If you happen to make eye contact with men at shops, you get ‘suggestive’ looks in return

I’ve often bought alcohol from thekas in Def Col, CP, Mayur Vihar and Noida, without any male friend accompanying me. If it’s night and there are people at the shop, it is certain that people will stare and heads will turn to take a better look at you. It is written on their faces, ‘oh ladki aayi hai daaru lene!’ It’s best to ignore – just walk in, buy your stuff and get out of the place. No one has ever misbehaved with me, but people do stare. If shop owners notice it, they attend to me first as they too want a woman out of their store quickly. I have a friend who often buys alcohol from liquor shops in Mayur Vihar and it’s usually late in the night. She makes sure she never makes eye contact with anyone. She told me that if you do that, you get ‘suggestive’ looks from men at the shop. - Isha Gupta*, marketing manager from Greater Noida

“Stares, sniggers, and snide remarks are part and parcel of every girl’s liquor-buying experience in Delhi,” women living in NCR told us (RANJIT KUMAR/ BCCL)


‘A middle-aged man started giving me disapproving looks’

In the area where I live, there isn’t such a big deal about a woman buying alcohol. But a few months ago, I was at a friend’s place in west Delhi for a party and decided to take a bottle with me. When I reached the billing counter, a middle-aged man standing next to me gave me disapproving looks and said, ‘Aajkal ki ladkiyon mein tameez hi nahi hai.’ I was irked by his patronizing tone, so I snapped back, saying, ‘Uncle, aap bhi yahan koi prasad toh lene aaye nahi ho.’ A few people laughed and that man immediately shut up.
-Namrata Singh, a resident of South Extension

‘We’re used to men staring at us, buying liquor or not’

We went to a theka in Saket during day time, so we weren’t that scared. We walked in and picked up what we wanted. We could feel that people were staring at us. Nobody passed any comment, and I think it actually depends on the place where the wine shop is situated and the time when you are going to buy liquor. Living in Delhi, I am now used to people staring at us no matter what we are doing. So we did not make a big deal out of it and bought what we wanted and left.
- Roshni Chawla*, a student who lives in Saket

‘With a bottle in hand, you know that you are being judged by everyone’

Unlike a guy, I can’t just go to a shop to pick a bottle. The ambience is such that you feel awkward. I prefer going in the afternoon and not beyond 7-8pm. But recently, I had to pick a bottle and it was almost 10pm. I thought really hard from where I could buy a bottle without being judged. I went to Nehru Place, but the distance from my car to the shop felt too long. With a bottle in hand, you know that you are being judged by everyone – be it the autowallah or the cop on duty.
-Ankita Rai*, a software professional who lives in Malviya Nagar

‘Madam ko bottle pehle lekar jane do yahan se’

I prefer going to malls when I have to buy alcohol or I order it. Once I had to buy alcohol and I was in CP, so I stopped my auto and went to a shop. Men at the store made way for me as soon as they saw me. And someone said, ‘Madam ko bottle pehle lekar jane do yahan se.’ Nobody misbehaved with me, but the tone in which it was said and the way they smiled at the comment made me uncomfortable. And then the autodriver told me, ‘Madam, mujhe paise de deti, main hi le aata apke liye.’
-Disha Sinha*, a bank employee who lives in Mayur Vihar

‘A drunk man asked us for our names and address and no one stopped him’

You always feel judged, whether you go at night or during the day. Two of my friends and I had gone to a wine shop at around 10pm. The moment we were about to leave, a drunk man asked us for our names and where we lived, and nobody stopped him. There were two-three men around who just watched and smirked. I think women who wish to go out to buy liquor should be confident. Otherwise there is no way you can do this in Gurgaon
-Khushi Sharma*, a student
Akshita.Vohra@timesgroup.com
Divya.Kaushik@timesgroup.com