hyderabad about five years ago the oldest pub in hyderabad introduced the concept of a ladies night at its bar every wednesday over the years many other pubs in the city also took fancy to the idea and had ladies night boards put up outside their premises if some served female guzzlers on a tuesday others picked thursday or even friday ironically the staff of the same pubs that were bending backwards to get women customers were giving them the short shrift the best tables reserved for men the waiters curt with orders in fact the owner of a leading pub in the city laughingly admits women could be treated differently if they walk in on a ladies nights that he subtly implies how free drinks do not come with a guarantee for good service is hard to missa perception problem or the reality well a mix of both women living in hyderabad have experienced the best and also the worst just that the latter experience seems more commonly found be it star hotels or roadside dhabas women sans men stepping in for biryani or beer are more often than not given the the same treatment as their male counterparts women cite umpteen examples of not being waited on properly and their complaints about the food or service completely ignoredbut while this prejudice against women begin with the hotel industry it does not end just there for similar stories of being treated differently constantly pour in from women going just about anywhere without a man take for instance the recently held numaish fair despite the decent size of the crowd of women at the exhibition stall owners there did not look too hopeful of making money from their women patrons when women come without the men their buying capacity is limited women usually do window shopping and leave the venue sometimes without buying even a single item so we do not take this day very seriously that the crowd besides homemakers also comprised working women was a thought that clearly did not cross the shopkeepers mindthese people are bound by tradition to behave the way they do explains prof sunanda pande head of department sociology osmania university further elaborating how women in hyderabad from the ancient times have always remained behind the scene not opened their wallets in the presence of men and sat down for their meals only after the male members of the house were heartily fed and while this would be true of every place other cities i feel have been able to grow out of it over the decades hyderabad is still in the process of doing so she said also the city according to prof pande continues to perceive women as weak and vulnerable and therefore do not feel the need to adhere by their tehezeeb while dealing with them whatever the social status of a woman may be people assume that she is timid and can be easily bullied on the contrary they are