In a shocking incident this weekend, several men, purportedly male students of Delhi University, who were unable to gain entry to a festival being held on the grounds of Delhi’s famed Miranda College, scaled the walls to gain unauthorised entry into the premises and then went on to intimidate and sexually harass women students.
The college had organised a Diwali Fest, but there was a long line of people, mostly Delhi University students, waiting outside. When the college authorities felt they could not admit any more people, they shut the gates. But it appears that toxic masculinity and male entitlement prevailed and the men went on to scale walls and climb over the gates!
A student of Miranda House shared a series of videos on Twitter showing how the men climbed over the gate and scaled walls to enter the college.
Men climbing over the walls to get into Miranda House during an open fest. What followed was horrible. Cat-calling, groping, sexist sloganeering and more. Men entering safe spaces to harass gender minorities is nothing new, but they out do themselves every time. pic.twitter.com/UkMAuJZKVU
— Sobhana (@sobhana__) October 15, 2022
More visuals of men jumping over the gates to harass women inside Miranda House. pic.twitter.com/wBdIO60ldS
— Sobhana (@sobhana__) October 15, 2022
Men from Ramjas College with their sexist slogan, “Ramjas ka Naara hai, Miranda poora hamara hai”. Ramjas’s slogan, all of Miranda is ours. Despicable. pic.twitter.com/TqXGjgCWXV
— Sobhana (@sobhana__) October 15, 2022
Arushi Sharma, a third-year student of the college told Indian Express, “When security realised that the number was unmanageable, they closed the gates. This made the boys really angry and since the college walls are low, they began jumping in from here creating a racket and shouting.”
NDTV quoted a statement by the college’s Women’s Development Cell: “Many attendees of the fest, primarily men, went entirely out of control at this move (the closure of the gates) and reacted aggressively when the administration prevented them from being on campus. They entered restricted premises like classrooms, ignored the requests of professors and staff, responded rudely to appeals to behave and invaded the students’ personal space.” It further said, “Attendees (mostly men) also chanted slogans and demanded to be let in. Some shouted out undignified assertions where they saw women as objects to be conquered. That, accompanied by the horrifying visuals of men climbing over gates and wall, trying (and succeeding) to enter college premises, made students feel unsafe and stifled on their campus.”
The statement went on to say, “The men on campus viewed women and other gender minorities on campus only as objects of their desire, resulting in an atmosphere where safety, respect and consent had evacuated the premises before anyone else.” The students urged, “While we firmly believe that men and other perpetrators of this violence should be held accountable, even the organising committee owes the students and the college an explanation. Their lack of foresight, inability to control the damage, and complete absence as chaos unfolded are inexcusable.”
The shocking scenes sparked outrage with many questioning the entitlement and impunity of the male offenders while others wondering if women will ever be able to live without fear.
What happened Miranda House is just a heartbreaking reality check for young women that no matter how hard you work and what elite institutions you enter into to improve the trajectory of your life, you will never escape the consequences of simply being born a woman.
— Paloma (@PalomaSharma) October 16, 2022
Think about how terrifying it must be for the girls in Miranda House. They’re not “gender minorities”. We’re nearly 50% of the population.
Those girls are being terrorized for being FEMALE and wanting an education.
— aliza ? ♀️ (@ajesterofsorts) October 16, 2022
On Monday, the Delhi Police took suo motu cognizance of the case and filed a First Information Report (FIR) against “unknown students”. College authorities too are now contemplating action and are likely to file a separate FIR after going through CCTV footage reported the Indian Express.
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