NEW DELHI: The city goes quiet. Their work doesn’t. A nurse walks out of a hospital at night. A call centre employee finishes a US shift as the sky begins to lighten. Cabin crew members travel to and from the airport through the night. Hotel workers clock out after midnight, while delivery workers and journalists continue navigating empty roads.For thousands of women working odd hours in and around Delhi-NCR, safety doesn’t end when the shift does. It continues through the commute home made. From company-arranged cabs and security escorts to live-location sharing and carefully chosen night shifts rides to accept, women have developed their own ways of managing the risks of travelling at night.Most of their stories reveal a stark reality: For a woman working at night, getting home safely is part of the job.The night-shift route: Six professions. One common question: How do I get home safely?Cab driver“I read the name and location carefully before accepting a ride at night”For Shadina Khatri (43), who lives in Indirapuram with her husband and son, driving is fitted around family responsibilities. The job lets her earn while still being present at home.“When you are out on the road, you do feel a little uneasy at night. You have to stay alert and think about how you would protect yourself,” she said there are precautions she takes before and after rides.Her night-time checklist
- Checks passenger details before accepting a ride
- Pays particular attention to the passenger’s name
- Is more cautious about accepting rides from male passengers at night
- Remains alert on isolated roads and unfamiliar stretches
- Thinks about how she would protect herself if something went wrong
Call centre employee“Can’t think about doing this job if there wasn’t office transport”For Priyanka Singh (32), finishing work around 5am means travelling home when Delhi is only beginning to wake up. Her commute between Dwarka and Netaji Subhash Place is made easier by office transport.“But I wonder about women working at smaller centres where such arrangements may not exist. I can’t think of travelling during those hours if there was no office transport.”What makes her commute feel safer?
- Company-provided cab
- Familiar occupants in the vehicle
- A fixed commute after a late-night shift
Cabin crew member“I share my location when I step out at odd hours”For Rubina (30), late-night travel is part of the job. Her flights can mean travelling between Sarita Vihar and IGI Airport almost any hour. Her employer arranges a cab for every trip. Between 7pm and 7am, a guard also accompanies the crew.“For me, it is much easier than other people. However, it is a norm that whenever I step out, I share my location with my husband. A lack of functional CCTVs is a real problem. We recently installed dashcams in our cars for safety,” she said.Her night-time checklist
- Company transport
- Guard accompanying her in the car at odd hours
- Sharing live location with husband
Journalist“Can’t rely on police surveillance or CCTV’s”A journalist’s shift rarely follows a clock. Breaking story can mean leaving the newsroom at 1am, rushing to a spot at 2am and filing the story before dawn.“At that hour, the roads are almost empty, and you are conscious that you are travelling alone. I make sure my phone is fully charged, share my location with someone at home and keep checking the route,” the journalist said.She added that if she goes somewhere unfamiliar, she tries not to take isolated roads and lets someone know when she reaches the spot. “The Soumya Viswanathan case is something that stays with many women journalists. We carefully on police surveillance and CCTV’s at all when stepping out at odd hours,” she said.Her night-time checklist
- Has phone fully charged
- Live location on and shared with someone at home
- Avoids unfamiliar or isolated stretches
Hotel worker“Cars slow down during the walk towards the metro”For a hotel employee working the night shift, the journey home begins with a 1km walk to a metro station. She usually takes an early morning train, but says reaching the station is the difficult part.“I have had cars slowing down beside me as I walk home. It’s very isolated. My mother wakes up early so I call her during that walk to the metro station or we walk out in groups.”Her night-time checklist
- Calls some family member
- Steps out in groups
- Avoids isolated stretches; remains alert
Nurse“At night, you just want to reach home without having to worry about anything else”For Aishwarya, a nurse at a govt hospital, an evening shift does not always end when the roster says it should. By the time she finishes work, changes and leaves, it can be 11pm. Then comes the wait for a bus.“I take the bus home, and that worries me. Buses are less frequent and there are very few people travelling at that hour,” she said.Her night-time checklist
- Informs family before leaving the hospital
- Keeps her phone charged and accessible
- Stays alert despite exhaustion after a long shift
