Even morning bus is unsafe: Delhi University students speak out on women's safety

Hundreds of students from Delhi University colleges, including Lady Shri Ram College and Gargi College, took to the streets in the national capital to demand greater safety and security for women. The protest was held in solidarity with a 17-year-old girl who was gang-raped near Kalkaji after visiting the Kalkaji Mandir on her birthday.

The protesters carried placards, raised slogans against patriarchy and demanded the right to walk safely on Delhi’s streets. Several students covered their faces during the march, citing concerns over college administrative rules restricting interactions with the media. Police personnel and PCR vans were deployed as the demonstration continued.

The protest also brought wider concerns about women’s safety in Delhi into focus, with students speaking about their experiences on public transport, inside college campuses and in poorly lit areas of the city.

“The morning bus we take to college is unsafe,” one student says, adding that women have to remain constantly alert, particularly about unwanted touching and physical contact.

A student from Himachal Pradesh who came to Delhi to study describes an incident involving a bus conductor whose conduct made her uncomfortable.

Several students say they do not feel safe even inside their college campuses. One student shows on camera how she shared her live location with her guardian while travelling to North Campus to join a protest following the Delhi incident, reflecting the precautions she felt were necessary.

Students also question what they describe as disparities in police patrolling across Delhi, particularly in areas on the outskirts. Students from a Delhi University college in Rithala describe poorly lit spaces and say navigating them is a daily challenge.

One woman recounts an incident during the DUSU elections in which obscene remarks were directed at protesting students. A video circulating on social media appears to show a police officer hugging the man accused of making the remarks.

Students also question what they describe as the normalisation of sexual violence. They point to cases involving rape accused persons being granted parole, as well as court observations that have triggered public debate over how rape and sexual assault are understood.

Some students speak about differences in how sexual violence is perceived and discussed, saying that varying understandings of rape and sexual assault can influence public reactions to such incidents.

One woman describes the uncertainty women can experience during seemingly ordinary physical contact. She says that when a man passing by brushes against her, she may not know whether it was accidental or deliberate, but that uncertainty itself can make her feel unsafe.- Ends