New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): Jamui and the Kalkaji, two incidents just days apart, have shaken the nation and drawn women's safety back into public conversation.
In Bihar's Jamui district, a purported video on social media went viral, showing a minor girl and her male companion allegedly being harassed and molested by a group of youths in Jamui. Days later in Delhi, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men near Lady Shri Ram College for Women, after visiting Kalkaji Mandir with a male friend and entering nearby Aastha Kunj Park on her birthday.
Women have long carried the weight of being on alert the moment they step out of their homes, and are still left asking for the basic right of "freedom" to use public spaces.
Following the Kalkaji incident, arrests were made, and protests erupted near LSR College and Gargi College as students and women asked for safety. As one protestor asked, “Until when are we supposed to live in fear?”
What followed the incident was temporary online classes in LSR and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) undertaking a comprehensive safety audit of all public parks, which will focus on the installation of adequate lighting, deployment of security personnel at all entry and exit gates, and mandatory security patrolling within park premises, particularly after sundown.
For its part, the Delhi Police has also stepped up its own presence, with 'pink police' in the works and extensive patrolling deployed across the city and parks in the aftermath of the incident.
The students who have to face-up to incidents like this have a straightforward ask; educate men better, provide working streetlights especially in vulnerable are, and ensure swift, strict punishment for perpetrators.
Above all, they are asking for the ability to exist in public spaces, to walk, to travel, to simply be outside, without constantly bracing for the possibility of harassment or assault.
A third-year Gargi College student said the fear has become constant, "We are constantly, literally living with fear. I mean, this is really bad that it's 2026 and we are still fighting for basic rights."
"Our basic demand was that the street lights that are not working near Gargi should be fixed, it's not safe to go in the dark," she added.
These young women believe that the burden of restrictions should not singulary rest on them, instead a campaign to educate men and stricter punishment for accused is the way forward.
“Why shouldn't the restrictions be on men? Why don't you educate them? And put restrictions on them…If you publicly punish those rapists, who are basically responsible it will help,” she said.
Being equally vocal about the Jamui incident, she questioned if anybody has the right to tell somebody what they should do, asking, “Who gave you the right to stop somebody from going anywhere? Who are you to question them? It's their choice, their right…Who gave you the right to molest that female?”
A second-year student echoed a similar sentiment. "Even if you lock down, there will be no benefit until we educate society” she said, adding that rapists should face capital punishment as they are essentially “murderers”, underscoring the level of trauma inflicted on the victims.
The students say the responsibilty of ensuring safety lies not just with the government but with educational institutions and families.
“It's also the responsibility of educational institutions and society as a whole to ensure that men are not raised in such a way that they think it's okay to rape women and they can go scot-free. It is part of rape culture if you do not correct young boys,” a student said.
On September 26, students from several Delhi University colleges marched outside Gargi College and Kamala Nehru College demanding accountability.
Yaksha Sharma, a DU alumna at the protest, questioned limiting park access specifically as a problem, "You've restricted us. This is exactly that patriarchal mindset, that when it comes to a girl, then just lock the girl up at home."
Data from the National Commission for Women shows the country received 27,672 complaints related to crimes against women in 2025, and 21,908 more in the year to date in 2026, which includes domestic violence, assault, criminal intimidation, dowry harassment, sexual harassment, and rape or attempted rape among the categories tracked.
Complaints of assault alone stood at 3,921 in 2025 and 2,711 so far in 2026; rape or attempted rape accounted for 1,625 complaints in 2025 and 951 in the current year.
These are only the complaints that reached the NCW – a fraction, as the Gargi third-year student pointed out, of what actually happens. “This is a reported case. There are so many cases that are unreported which we don't even know,” she said.
The young women are calling for functioning streetlights, extensive patrolling in vulnerable areas and campaigns aimed at educating society, all in an effort to ensure they can feel safe. (ANI)
"Why no restrictions on men?": Students back better facilities, extensive patrolling after alleged rape in Kalkaji
