The vibrant, fast-paced rhythm of Delhi’s university campus usually hums with laughter, bustling chai stalls, and intense different vibes. But things have changed this humid afternoon; the atmosphere around Kamla Nehru and Gargi Colleges has shifted dramatically. Triggered by the horrific gang-rape at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji, students from the two colleges took to the streets to demand what should be theirs by right: complete safety, dignity, and freedom.
By today, students from Kamla Nehru College (KNC) and Gargi College joined the march, marching shoulder to shoulder in solidarity. Many of us haven’t even told our parents we are here today. The agitation began as a spark at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and quickly transformed into a roaring flame. Armed with makeshift posters, many hastily painted on turned-over Blinkit grocery paper bags and other shopping bags and chart paper with unique slogans regarding women’s safety and security. They flooded the avenues, boldly scrawled across the brown paper were words demanding ‘Safety’, ‘Equal Rights’, ‘An End to Gender-Based Violence’, and an urgent plea for a shift in society’s mindset. When I stepped away from the main camera to speak off the record with students who are doing protests i met a second-year Gargi College student. I gently asked why so many of them chose to hide their faces. “If we don’t hide our faces, university boys will crop our photos to make disgusting memes, or post them on social media to harass us. If they see us on TV, they will scold us or force us back home out of fear. On camera, the stories shared by the students laid bare the daily struggles of a young woman navigating the national capital. One student pointed out the lack of basic infrastructure. Streetlights on university routes are frequently non-functional, turning evening commutes into terrifying gauntlets. Others spoke passionately about the relentless street harassment from predatory stares and derogatory comments to inappropriate touching on public transport.
But we still had to show up,” said the student.
