‘No curfews, fix the streets instead’: Delhi students spotlight safety outside campus

As rain fell over Delhi on Monday (September 28, 2026) afternoon, posters outside the Arts faculty of the University of Delhi began to smudge; this was the third solidarity march by students. The words written on banners remained smudged but bold: “Azaadi”, freedom. But this time, the demand was not simply for freedom from the classroom or the institution; rather, it demanded freedom from the fear that has become part of transit through the capital city of India, Delhi.

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Hundreds of students from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) gathered outside at the back gate of LSR, extending to Moolchand for a solidarity march following the gang rape case of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji earlier this week. The incident directly affected the college: a police encounter involving one of the perpetrators took place near LSR’s back gate, prompting the college to move classes online temporarily and students to demand greater security around the campus.

But for the students who walked out of the gate that evening, the concern was not limited to an isolated incident. “It’s about the roads we take to the metro twice a day,” says a 20-year-old B.A. English Hons. student of LSR. She describes the park beside the back gate as frightening and feels ‘unsafe’ to walk to their paying guest accommodation. This impacts their day-to-day movement, and the students often decide not to stay late for a society meeting or leave before it gets dark.

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“These are not just roads, but rather parts of many girls’ everyday lives,” says a third-year Psychology student at LSR. “For many of us studying in the women’s colleges along this route, walking these streets is an unavoidable part of getting to class, going home, or simply travelling through the city.”

Women across Delhi’s colleges describe changing routes, travelling in groups, avoiding certain roads after dark, or leaving college early. Their concerns extend beyond the campus perimeter to the roads, parks, metro stations, and neighbourhoods that make up their daily commute.

Danger outside campus

The roads near LSR have dictated students’ commuting decisions for several years. The issues faced by the students include catcalling, comments from men, stalking, and indecent exposure in public. A student pointed out that even though no data has been collected systematically on these cases, they happen quite often.

Anjali, a Gargi College alumna, recalls taking the road from Moolchand toward Siri Fort. “I often took the road from Moolchand to Siri Fort, but time and again, through the deserted routes, men would discreetly follow me,” she says.

Anjali, like any other girl, changed her route from Moolchand Metro Station to Green Park Station. Both stations are equidistant from Gargi College. The alternative route costs more in both time and money, but she feels it’s necessary for her security.

Such adjustments alter how women navigate the city. When direct routes are linked to harassment, they become unusable, and students must take longer routes that require more effort and money.

The back gate is still a key issue at LSR. The eight-to-nine-minute walk from the Moolchand Metro station to the back gate was not viable in the dark because of poor lighting and low footfall. Seniors always warn new students about the dangers of using the route to Moolchand and Amar Colony.

One second-year student avoids the area around Aastha Kunj Park after 5 p.m. and uses the back gate only in groups of three or four. “It is seen as a normal procedure,” she said. Students are expected to move in groups, avoid dark streets, stay alert, and return before nightfall.

These demands, however, seem to solve the wrong problem for some students.

“Women’s safety shouldn’t come from when we leave college and who walks out with us,” one student explained. “I want to be careful, but not trapped by that caution,” said another student. “I don’t want to think that I can’t linger after college anymore, walk a certain way, or use public spaces just because I’m a woman.”