Delhi: Men scale over walls to enter women’s college, sexually harass students

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.

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.

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.

Also read:

“Illusive Justice” for sexual harassment complaints in the Supreme Court, will there be a course correction?

Kerala HC: “Even if a woman wears a ‘provocative dress’ that cannot give a licence to a man to outrage her modesty”