On a wintry evening in Delhi, beautician Geeta Misarvan leaves work, steeling herself for a long wait until a bus arrives, and with it the dreaded prospect of being groped by strangers during the ride home.

"Once a guy sees you traveling alone, he will come and stand right behind you. Then, he will lean in and press his body against yours and try to touch you," Misarvan said, describing an ordeal endured daily by many women in urban India.

In Delhi's crowded coaches, where men easily outnumber women, the sense of hostility and fear is particularly palpable in the wake of the widely discussed gang rape and murder of a young student on a moving bus in the city last month.