Women protest in the streets of Delhi after string of sexual assaults

Hundreds of Delhi University students participated in a massive women-led protest at North Campus on Monday (28 September), marching for nearly two hours in solidarity with the 17-year-old survivor of the Kalkaji gang rape and demanding accountability for violence against women and safer public spaces. 

The march began at Miranda House and culminated at a large gathering near the Swami Vivekananda statue at the centre of the Faculty of Arts. It was the largest of several protests held in Delhi since the 21 September gang rape, which has triggered widespread outrage and renewed concerns over women's safety in the city.

As drizzle fell, students marched with soaked posters that read, "Thank you for online classes, we'd prefer safe roads", and "It's not a women's safety issue, it's a male violence issue". They passed Miranda House, the Faculty of Law, Ramjas College and Shri Ram College of Commerce, raising slogans of "Azaadi".

For many, the protest was an expression of how the rape in Aastha Kunj Park had only cemented their daily fears of living in Delhi.

Pragya Bharti, a Delhi University master's student from Jharkhand, said concerns about safety had begun even before she moved to the city.

"I wanted to pursue my undergraduate education in Delhi. My parents thought I needed to be mature enough before I could move to the city, as their minds were filled with stories about how unsafe it is to live here," she said.

A 17-year-old Miranda House student from Bihar's Samastipur said parental restrictions and monitoring had increased sharply since the gang rape, with her parents calling several times a day and asking her to share her location when she goes anywhere other than college.

"Just this Saturday (26 September), my parents called my PG owner because I wasn't answering their calls. The PG owner called my roommate because I wasn't picking his calls as well. I had no classes so I was sleeping with my phone on silent mode – this is what this gang-rape has changed for me," she said.

Samridhi Sharma, who graduated from Swami Shraddhanand College in 2018, said students continued to face harassment, catcalling and stalking. "Street lights are bare minimum – they are part of civic infrastructure, and the government isn't able to ensure that even these civic needs of residents are met," she said.

Indira, 21, said women were routinely made to bear the costs and restrictions imposed in the name of their safety.

"We are asked to stop going out after dark. PG owners demand extra money from female students before renting out rooms to us, citing safety concerns. We have to spend money on things like pepper spray and pay extra for safer modes of transportation, especially in the evening," she said.

"These are additional responsibilities and costs that women are expected to bear simply to feel safe. It's time we demand some accountability from men instead," she said.