Despite strides made toward gender equality, harassment continues to compromise the safety and freedom of women. A recent incident sheds light on this troubling reality when a female lawyer booked an Uber ride and received lewd messages from the driver. Her complaint to the company, however, was met with an unsatisfactory response, prompting her to go public with the incident. The story quickly gained traction, leading Uber to take action.
Lawyer Experiences Harassment, Frustrated by Uber’s Response
In a disturbing incident, Tanya Sharma, a lawyer based in Delhi-NCR, faced harassment after booking an Uber ride. When she informed her assigned driver, Jitendra Kumar, that she would be five minutes late, she received a shocking message from him that read:
“Jaldi aao babu yaar, man ho raha hai.”
Disturbed and appalled by this behavior, Tanya immediately canceled the ride and reported the incident to Uber. However, the company’s response was far from satisfactory. Instead of offering swift and serious action, Uber sent her a generic, sympathetic message, which Tanya found completely inadequate given the gravity of the situation.
Frustrated with the lack of accountability, she turned to social media, sharing screenshots of the offensive messages and Uber’s passive response.
In her post, Tanya expressed her concerns about the safety of women, even in supposedly upscale areas of the city.
“We live in the 21st century, and still, things are so pathetic and traumatic for people daily that even an auto driver can harass you in broad daylight… in one of the poshest areas of the city. I booked an Uber, and within five minutes, I started getting disturbing texts. I canceled the booking and filed a complaint, but Uber India’s grievance redressal process seems to involve sending a sympathetic message to the victim and then forgetting about it. Is this how it works?”
she wrote.
Tanya’s post went viral, and she continued to question Uber’s responsibility in ensuring passenger safety. She raised alarm about the potential danger other women could face while Uber took its 48-hour window to address her complaint.
“What if this same thing happened to other women during these so-called 48 hours of your policy? Are you ready to take responsibility for my safety and the safety of those women out there?”
Her decision to speak out caught widespread attention on social media.
Netizens Respond to the Incident
The public’s reaction was one of outrage, with many people sharing their own negative experiences with Uber. Tanya’s post resonated with many, sparking a larger conversation about safety concerns and the company’s response to such incidents.
Uber Bans Driver After Intense Backlash
As Tanya’s story went viral, Uber came under fire from the public. The backlash was swift and intense, compelling the company to take action. In response to the widespread criticism, Uber permanently banned the driver, Jitendra Kumar, from the platform. Tanya shared the news of the ban in a follow-up post, thanking everyone who supported her and shared their own stories.
She expressed her relief that the driver could no longer harass any other passengers. However, she emphasized the importance of treating such incidents with seriousness and raising awareness to ensure better safety measures for women in the future.
“Thanks for everyone who supported and shared their experiences. I’m grateful that people around me was actually there for me in this situation and Uber addressed and banned the driver from Uber platform, so he cannot do this to anyone else.. but please escalate such matters with seriousness and more importantly let others aware.”
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