Indraprastha College Students Harassed: Can Delhi Ever Be Safe For Women?

In a series of tweets, a Twitter user named Anjali mentioned that drunk men climbed up the walls of Indraprastha College for Women, forcefully entered the campus, and harassed the women. The men were chanting, "Miranda IP dono hamara, Miranda nahi chhoda to IP bhi nahi chhodenge." (Miranda House and Indraprastha College both are ours! We didn’t leave Miranda, we won’t leave IP either). Where do men get such the audacity to say derogatory things? Why police has not taken adequate action given the repeated nature of the incident?

Earlier in October 2022, during the Diwali celebration, men climbed through the college walls of Miranda House, a women’s college in Delhi. Tweets of men climbing over the walls and entering the college went viral on social media. Several men had chanted sexist slogans, catcalled, groped, and molested the college girls. The same happened recently in Delhi's Indraprastha College For Women (IPCW). Several men climbed the wall to attend the annual fest.

Girls Of Indraprastha College Harassed

This video posted by the Twitter user shows the men shouting, "Miranda, IP dono hamara." What gives these men the right to claim ownership over these college girls? "Miranda nahi chooda to IP bhi nahi choddenge," they are seen bragging. If the police and relevant authorities had taken strong action back then, would these men have the audacity to chant such a sexist slogan?  Apparently, the police had registered FIRs against the perpetrators in the Miranda College incident, but what happened after that? The video also showed the police asking the girls to vacate the place. Why ask the girls to leave instead of detaining the men who are trespassing into the college?

For now, Seven men have been arrested after the students of Indraprastha College reported that several men climbed over the college walls during the two-day fest and harassed the students. "An FIR has been registered and seven men who trespassed into the college have been arrested," as per Sagar Singh Khalsi, DCP North.

In 2020, students of Gargi College were stalked, groped, and harassed during a three-day annual function. Drunk men infiltrated the college using fake IDs and masturbated in front of the girls. 100 suspect were found through CCTV footage. 10 of them were detained, but what happened after that? Weren’t they penalised for outraging the modesty of and molesting numerous girls? If they had been, would similar incidents of women being harassed inside all-girls institutions still be happening?

On the occasion of Holi and International Women’s Day, the authorities of the Rajiv Gandhi Hostel for Girls were banned from going out. Why is the college authority focusing on locking the hostelers inside instead of taking action against these men? Why is society not recognising the need to educate men on respecting women and simply resorting to the patriarchal solution of confining women indoors?

The safety of women remains a serious concern in the national capital despite the rising number of horrific crimes against women. The National Crime Records Bureau stated that Delhi is the most unsafe metropolitan city for women across the country. The NCRB recorded 13,892 crimes against women in Delhi in 2021, a 40% increase from 2020.

It is infuriating to see these men claiming ownership over women and bragging about how they have assaulted women in one college and will continue to do the same in this college as well. What gives these men the audacity to assault women in a public space in broad daylight? This clearly hints at the male entitlements and privileges that these criminals enjoy.

News reports always seem to end with "Further investigations are ongoing and an FIR has been filed." But is that enough? What happened after that? Were these men imprisoned? How were they punished for their crimes? Questions about whether these criminals were punished for their crimes are always left unanswered.

Only when solid and strict punishments are taken against such crimes will these men start developing a fear of the law. When are we going to have a system that takes timely and harsh action against the perpetrators? What is the point of having all-women’s colleges if their safety is at stake even inside the institution’s premises? Will the IPCW harassment case have the same fate?

Suggested Reading: Miranda House Case: Times When Women’s Safety Was Hijacked Within College Premises