Barely a month into her new job, a 22-year-old postwoman is now terrified of going back to work after a security guard allegedly molested her during a delivery on Wednesday, raising questions about the safety of postwomen in the city.

Sources at the postal service said that the attack could have been prevented altogether if the survivor had been provided with the mandatory uniform. Women were allowed to join the postal service in Mumbai from 1991, and in the years since, their numbers have swelled to over 500 postwomen.