‘Nothing changed since Dec 16, 2012’: DU students protest over women’s safety - The Indian Express

Renewed alarm over concerns related to women’s safety in the Capital — after a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in a South Delhi park earlier this week —  brought around 200 students from colleges of Delhi University (DU) out on streets on Wednesday. For some, the incident has been a reminder of December 16, 2012 gangrape. Even after more than a decade, the situation remains the same, they said.

The protest started near the Lady Shri Ram college for Women, which is in proximity to the site of the incident, and demonstrators also included students from other colleges, including Miranda House and Gargi College, as well as those from Dr B R Ambedkar University and some DU faculty members.

“Down with the patriarchy”: this was among the slogans that rented the air as the march moved towards a police ‘Pink booth’.  “This is not an LSR issue… We are our own voice. It’s not the first time that it is happening and men have the audacity to blame women for stepping out at night and only know how to police women,” said one of the organisers, her face covered with a yellow scarf.

Ananya, a first-year student at LSR, said she often feels unsafe when she leaves college late after theatre practice. “Men near this booth stand and make obscene gestures when they see women,” she alleged. “The issues are not new. Even in our time women’s safety was a key concern. Now the situation has worsened,” she said.

She also recalled incidents around Holi, saying men would throw water balloons into women’s colleges or hostels. In 2018, students from colleges, including LSR and Jesus and Mary College, protested after balloons allegedly containing semen and urine were thrown at women ahead of Holi.

Wednesday’s march moved along the Ring Road, past neighbouring institutions including the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing (RAKCON). First-year B.Sc Nursing students residing in the RAKCON hostel in Lajpat Nagar said they had been instructed by teachers to move in groups when stepping outside the campus. “It’s our first year. The teachers have clearly warned us that whenever we need to step out, we must move in groups even for small errands,” said Ngawang Gatso, a first-year B.Sc Nursing student from Uttarakhand.

Tenzing Pamo, also a first-year student, said, “Stepping out is unavoidable. We definitely feel safer when we step outside together.”

Their batchmate Yangzom, a first-year B.Sc Nursing student from Tibet, said, “It has barely been a day since we arrived, and the very first instruction we received was about stepping out cautiously. With everything happening in the area, our seniors and faculty emphasised that no one should walk around alone outside the gates.” Walking with the protesters was Yakshna Sharma, a 2025 graduate of DU’s Campus Law Centre and now an advocate practising at the Delhi High Court.

“If the most upscale localities, near Kalkaji and LSR, cannot keep women safe, where in this city are we supposed to feel secure?”

For Sharma, this incident had brought wider concerns over women’s safety into focus. “It is horrifyingly reminiscent of the December 16 gangrape incident. This means nothing has changed since. It’s that same mindset that men can ‘discipline’ women on the streets. She was also accompanied by a male friend. If Delhi cannot ensure women are safe in the most upscale, most prestigious areas then women are not safe anywhere,” she said, citing colleges such as Lakshmibai College and Vivekananda College as examples. She alleged that women students had complained about catcalling and men urinating and masturbating while peering into college grounds, and said there were inadequate CCTVs, police presence and pink booths around some campuses.

The protest also brought first-year students attending a demonstration for the first time.

“Mujhe toh pata bhi nahi tha ki kaise protest hota hai… lekin iss baar zaroori laga join karke (I didn’t even know how protests worked, but this time I felt it was important to join),” said a first-year LSR student.

Another student added, “We feel unsafe in Metro coaches. Regular commute is a problem. It is not just a problem isolated to a specific college like LSR or its back lane alone. Every day, anywhere in the city, being a woman, it feels unsafe.”

As darkness set in, protesters exchanged contact numbers and formed WhatsApp groups to coordinate further action. “Look at who turned up today… students, working women, women from NGOs,” Sharma said. “We have to take this movement forward ourselves.”

Sophiya Mathew is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She joined the Delhi bureau in 2024, and has specialization in Integrated Multimedia Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Professional Background Core Beats: Her reporting is primarily focused on the Environment and Education. Specialization: She has gained recognition for her ground-level reporting on the Yamuna floodplains and the socio-economic challenges faced by those living on its banks. She also focuses on the disparities in Delhi's education system, ranging from elite private schools to government institutions and refugee education. Recent Notable Articles (December 2025) Her recent work has been heavily centered on Delhi's severe winter pollution crisis and the government's regulatory responses: 1. The Air Pollution Crisis "A tale of two cities: Delhi govt schools choke in bad air, private classrooms set up air filters" (Dec 20, 2025): A high-impact feature contrasting the "Clean Air Bubbles" in elite schools with the reality of government school students who are exposed to an equivalent of 17 cigarettes a day due to outdoor exposure. "Delhi sees season's worst air day, second worst December AQI in nearly a decade" (Dec 15, 2025): An analytical report on the meteorological patterns trapping pollutants in the NCR. "Delhi bans non-BS VI vehicles from outside: Why curbing vehicular pollution is key" (Dec 17, 2025): Explaining the science behind targeting specific vehicle vintages to lower particulate matter. 2. Enforcement & Regulations "No fuel at pumps in Delhi without valid PUC certificate from December 18" (Dec 17, 2025): Breaking the news on the environment ministry's strict "No PUC, No Fuel" policy. 3. Education Policy "Law to regulate school fee in Delhi risks becoming procedural, say parents" (Dec 13, 2025): Investigating the loopholes in the new Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. "Monsoon Session: Private school fee regulation Bill cleared after four-hour debate" (Aug 9, 2025): Covering the legislative passage of the controversial fee hike regulation. Signature Style Sophiya is known for her observational depth. Her reporting often includes vivid details from school corridors, hospital waitlists, or the banks of the Yamuna to illustrate how policy failures affect the city's most vulnerable residents. She is a frequent expert guest on the 3 Things podcast, where she explains the complexities of Delhi’s environmental laws. X (Twitter): @SophiyaMathew1 ... Read More