When Deepika Shergill was about 20 years old, she commuted by bus to her office job. A man in his 40s would regularly grope her on the bus.
"He would always come and stand next to me, lean over, rub his groin in my back, and fall over me each time the driver applied the brakes," she told the BBC. She silently endured it for months until one ride when he "began masturbating and ejaculated on my shoulder." The next day she wore stiletto heels and brought a safety pin with her.
"As soon as he came and stood next to me, I got up from my seat and crushed his toes with my heels. I heard him gasp, and felt a lot of joy. Then I used the pin to puncture his forearm and quickly exited the bus," she said.
She never saw the man again.
According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, India is the most dangerous country for women. Sexual violence, domestic abuse, and human trafficking are just some of the issues that women face in India.
Read the article for more examples of how women in India use pins to protect themselves on crowded buses and trains.