Around 200 Delhi University students marched near August Kranti Marg on Friday, chanting slogans and calling for better safety for women and children in the city. The protest came after reports of a 17-year-old girl being gang-raped in a Delhi park and amid growing worries about crimes against women and minors.
Students from Lady Shri Ram College, Gargi College, Miranda House, and Kamala Nehru College joined the march, which started near Kamala Nehru College and ended at Gargi College. This was the second student protest of the week.
Many students now see safety as a daily concern when traveling. One student said she often asks someone to walk her home and shares her live location with several people so they know where she is.
Another student said women should not have to live in constant fear. She said safety worries continue on roads, public transport, and in neighborhoods near student housing, even outside college.
The protests also discussed how safety steps should be put in place. Student representatives said there is now more patrolling in areas like National Park and Vikram Vihar, and Pink Squad patrols have been made stronger. They also mentioned better monitoring at the Pink Booth and college back gate, as well as improved street lighting.
After the march, students met along Siri Fort Road to discuss and draft a list of demands.
March organizers, under the banner “Hum Auratein Azaad Hai,” said that limiting women’s movement should not be the only answer to sexual violence. They were concerned about proposals to restrict women’s access to public parks after sunset and to make hostel and PG curfews stricter.
Instead, the students asked for better street lighting, safer and easier-to-use public transport, and more freedom for women and gender minorities to use public spaces.
The protest has reopened the debate about whether safety efforts should mainly limit women’s movement or focus on making public spaces safer for everyone.
