Last October an Australian imam from Egypt, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly, caused an uproar by proclaiming:

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."[1]

Examples of misogyny in extremist Islamic Arab nations are widely known (women can't drive, honour killings, etc.). While not manifesting itself in the same ways, are Indian attitudes towards women just as negative? What would be considered assault elsewhere, is mis-termed 'Eve teasing' in India. This indicates that negative behaviour and attitudes towards women, accepted and condoned in India, are the result of an Indian 'she asked for it' mindset.

Indian women may have resigned themselves to dealing with being groped during every public bus ride, however the following articles highlight that foreigners have very negative take-aways from their Indian experiences:

Sydney Morning Herald Travel Blog: why women get a hard time

... I met an American woman in India who'd been travelling by herself, and told me that she'd decided to hire a guide because she was worried about being hassled by locals, and thought a guide would keep them away. The locals were the least of her worries. To her surprise, her guide showed very little interest in guiding and preferred to amuse himself by coming up with subtle ways to cop a feel. He'd go to point something out in the distance, and casually brush his arm against her breast. Annoying the first time, extremely uncomfortable after a whole day of it. ...

(also see the comments)

Columbia Journalism Review: Foreign correspondents and sexual abuse

The photographer was a seasoned operator in South Asia. So when she set forth on an assignment in India, she knew how to guard against gropers: dress modestly in jeans secured with a thick belt and take along a male companion. All those preparations failed, however, when an unruly crowd surged and swept away her colleague. She was pushed into a ditch, where several men set upon her, tearing at her clothes and baying for sex. They ripped the buttons off her shirt and set to work on her trousers. ...

Neither of these articles' primary focus is India, Indian women, or Indian attitudes towards women; however it is interesting to note that they use Indian examples to highlight their points. The 'uncovered meat'/'sacred sthri' is the least charming of all of India's many dissociative identity disorders, and we need less passive acceptance and more discussion. Hopefully, this will be expedited by growing consciousness of our rising international profile.