Many young women say cases of sexual harassment in areas around Delhi University are a daily affair.
| Photo Credit: File Photo
:
Sharanya, who studies philosophy at Delhi University’s (DU) Hansraj College, came to the city from Theog, a town near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, looking forward to a life of “more opportunities, better education and exposure, and independence for women, as patriarchy is deep-rooted in my town”.
But as she began navigating her way between the college and her paying guest (PG) accommodation, Sharanya realised she couldn’t let her guard down on north Delhi’s streets even for a minute. “You never know who is watching or stalking you,” she says, citing an example of a rickshaw driver telling, rather than asking her, where she studied. “This meant he was keeping an eye on us,” she says. He insisted she take his number and call him when she needed a ride, at which point, she asked him to stop, and got off.
‘Many such cases’
This is not an isolated incident, though, and not all women have Sharanya’s agency. Fresh-out-of-school graduates who come to Delhi from across India, stay as PGs within a 2-km radius around DU, primarily Kamla Nagar and Jawahar Nagar. Many say sexual harassment in the student hub is a daily affair, and they face it from young men also in college, service providers, and fellow permanent residents of the area.
Like many universities across India, the lack of adequate hostel space within colleges forces women to take up accommodation in the nearby residential areas. Sharanya, who is also the secretary of her college unit of the Students’ Federation of India, recalls a controversy from early 2022, when students alleged that the administration had built a gaushala (cow shed) in Hansraj College on the land designated for the girl’s hostel.
She claims the college “built the hostel after students protested against the move,” but that the behaviour of her teachers changed towards her and other dissenting students after the episode.
Unfortunately, not much has changed in several years around DU, the university that once had students like (three-time Chief Minister of Delhi) Sheela Dixit, (first woman IPS officer) Kiran Bedi and (Nobel Peace Prize laureate) Aung San Suu Kyi.
‘Eyewitness of assault’
Nutan (name changed to protect privacy), who has returned for UPSC coaching classes to the area after graduating from DU four years ago, says, “I have seen incidents where guys on bikes have pushed or slapped girls.” She adds that PCR vans are stationed in parts of Kamla Nagar, but many lanes are so narrow that it’s difficult to catch the offending bikers.
A senior officer of the Delhi police, however, says that action is taken as soon as they receive complaints regarding women’s safety. “We have personnel deployed around PGs in Kamla Nagar and other areas until 11 p.m. and mobile vans patrolling the streets throughout the night,” he says, adding that the police force is also in touch with PG owners about students’ issues. “Apart from 100 and 112 emergency numbers, we also have numbers of some officers displayed in the area.”
Kajal (name changed), who stays as a PG, says the building she lives in is far from the main road, so she avoids going out after 5 p.m. unless it’s for something important. “It’s quite difficult to step out at night because men gather around shops and stare while you pass, sometimes deliberately bumping into you.”
Women are wary of reporting incidents because they fear being judged.
Corroborating the women students’ concerns about reporting incidents, another senior police officer said, “There is a perception among students regarding approaching the police, which is why we don’t receive many formal complaints of harassment.” DU officials did not respond to many requests for a comment on the safety concerns of women students.
