Delhi University students held a women’s safety march near Rajdhani College on Thursday, demanding justice and stronger safeguards for women around educational institutions, hostels, roads and public spaces. The protest followed the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park in South Delhi and came amid a series of demonstrations across the university campus.
The girls-only march began at Rajdhani College and was scheduled to proceed towards Shivaji College, according to a poster circulated by the organisers. The poster said the protest was organised by students and that political organisations were not allowed to participate.
Students raised slogans seeking justice and calling for stronger measures to improve women’s safety in and around educational institutions. Their demands linked the immediate concern over the alleged assault with wider conditions in the city’s public realm, including poorly lit roads, inadequate surveillance and safety risks around campuses, hostels and parks.
The demonstration was the latest in a series of protests by Delhi University students following the alleged rape at Aastha Kunj Park. Students from several colleges have held demonstrations in recent days, raising concerns about how women experience movement through spaces that connect campuses, accommodation, public transport routes and neighbourhood facilities.
Earlier this week, hundreds of students marched in North Campus from Miranda House towards the Faculty of Arts. That protest also focused on safer public spaces and opposed restrictions on women’s mobility imposed in the name of safety. Taken together, the demonstrations have placed both physical infrastructure and institutional responsibility at the centre of the campus safety debate.
The concerns raised by students point to several layers of urban administration. Street lighting, surveillance and the upkeep of public spaces involve different authorities and may require coordination between civic agencies, police, educational institutions and campus administrations. The report does not identify any new official measure announced in response to the protests.
For students, the issue extends beyond the boundaries of college premises. The journeys between classrooms, hostels, roads, parks and transport connections often determine whether public spaces are usable after dark. Complaints about lighting and surveillance therefore relate not only to policing but also to the design, maintenance and management of the routes that students rely on daily.
The march also reflects a continuing tension in urban safety policy: improving protection without restricting women’s freedom to move through the city. The earlier North Campus protest specifically opposed restrictions on women’s mobility in the name of safety, indicating that students are demanding safer public environments rather than limits on when or where they can travel.
The organisers’ decision to hold a girls-only protest and exclude political organisations gave the demonstration a defined student-led character. Further protests may continue as students press for action on lighting, surveillance and safety around educational institutions and public spaces. The report does not specify a government response or a formal timeline for remedial measures.