Women’s safety in DU: ‘Men harass women, but restrictions are put on us’

DU students say they are now expected to be more careful ahead of their annual festival after the recent incident of men scaling wall during the cultural fest

In February 2020, several men barged into Delhi University’s all-women Gargi College and allegedly harassed students during the its annual festival. Three years later, the varsity’s Indraprastha College for Women also witnessed a similar incident on its fest on March 28, when men scaled its walls. The two incidents, though far set in terms of both time and distance, has triggered a sense of fear and anxiety among students of all-women institutes, besides a set of probable restrictions they think will come their way.

Kamala Nehru College (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

At Kamala Nehru College (KNC), located adjacent to Gargi, students said they were now expected to be more careful ahead of their annual festival this month.

“There is fear that our safety may be compromised. While we know that our student union and college will take care of the arrangements, how does one deal with a situation where non-students barge in,” said Chaitanya Bhardwaj, a political science student.

Bhardwaj said that in the aftermath of harassment incidents, the onus of safety was placed on women and they were expected to have their guards up, even within their own colleges. “Security apparatus alone cannot curb such instances since there is a misogynistic mindset that triggers these acts. The male gaze and mentality is problematic....”

Ratan Priya, an outstation, second-year political science student, said that her parents advised her to be careful and avoid fests in other colleges.

“Due to men’s behaviour, restrictions are imposed on us. If people are driven by the thrill of entering a women’s college, even security cannot tackle such a mindset,” said Priya.

In 2020, KNC’s college fest was cancelled after incident at Gargi college.

Kalpana Bhakuni, KNC principal, said while the college will hold the cultural festival despite the prevailing circumstances, it will continue to follow its SOP for those coming from outside.

“Earlier, we allowed men to enter the college simply for attending the fest. This time, we consulted the students and they said they will not feel comfortable amid presence of non-DU students. So, we will have regulated entry of male students participating in events but besides them, non-participating male students will not be allowed,” said Bhakuni.

Meanwhile, students at Gargi College said that the incident at IP College heightened vulnerability and brought back bitter memories from three years ago when some students were allegedly flashed, groped, verbally harassed, and even had money thrown at them on February 6, 2020 during their college fest.

Aishvarya Mishra, a second-year student of BA (H) History at Gargi college, said that instead of strengthening the security apparatus, the college was choosing to impose restrictions on women and curtailing fest activities.

Students at Gargi staged a protest on Monday and alleged that the administration wanted to limit fest timings and cancel a night event.

“Men indulge in acts of harassment but restrictions are imposed on us. An institution that should be liberating women is clipping their wings and backing down,” said Mishra.

College principal Sangeeta Bhatia did not respond to HT’s queries for a response.

Chandan Chowdhary, DCP, South, said that police will hold meetings with college authorities ahead of their fests and ensure that adequate force is deployed.

“We take many measures during college fests. Dedicated PCR vans are placed outside the college which specifically patrol around colleges. Inside the colleges also, we have staff in civil to ensure that no harassment or incidents occur,” said Chowdhary.