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Women’s safety in DU: ‘Must recognise some men have a regressive mindset’
Men scaling the walls of all-women colleges during annual festivals and harassing students have raised concerns about the safety of women at Delhi University
The ugly scenes on March 28, in which men scaled the boundary walls of Indraprastha (IP) College for Women and allegedly harassed students during the college’s annual festival, has reignited a conversation on the safety— or lack thereof — of women at Delhi University.
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This was the third such incident in as many years in which men muscled their way into an all-women college and created a ruckus — on February 6, 2020, dozens of men entered Gargi College during its annual festival, with students alleging that they were flashed, groped and even had money thrown at them, while on October 14, 2022, men scaled the walls of Miranda House during its annual Diwali fest and harassed women.
The recurring nature of such incidents has sowed seeds of apprehension and fear among women students, who say that effective measures and societal transformation are needed to make the campus a safer space.
For students at Miranda House, the incident at IP College triggered ugly memories.
Bhavya Ruchi, a final year Sanskrit (honours) student at Miranda House, said outsiders managed to barge into the college despite heavy police presence. “The incident could have been prevented if there was registration for a limited number of students. At the same time, it is important to recognise that some men harbour a regressive mindset. This was also witnessed at IP College, where the trespassers raised slogans in which they said that since they did not spare Miranda House, they would not spare IP College either,” she said.
Deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that women’s safety was an area of utmost priority and police worked in tandem with colleges to keep a check on security. “Women’s safety is of topmost concern for us. We hold regular self-defence classes for students, and whenever college fests take place, we ensure that more lady officers are employed at the gates. As far as the entry mechanism at fests is concerned, members of the college festival committee handle it, but if any distress call is made, we intervene immediately,” said Kalsi.
Nishana, a final year BA (H) English student at Miranda House who goes by her first name, said while women were harassed at the college, there was reluctance in accepting the same and taking punitive action. “On all days, our college is a safe space. But when men barged inside our campus, we felt scared and helpless. It was the worst incident of mass trespassing that I witnessed,” she said.
Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House, said the college followed the guidelines issued by the varsity and had put in place a registration mechanism for the fest. Nanda said that while security arrangements were crucial, the college was grappling with space constraints. “We had 3,000 students earlier. Now, we have 5,000 students. The space is limited and hence we are limiting crowds now,” Nanda said.
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She added that while security arrangements could be spruced up, it was crucial to undertake gender sensitisation efforts.
