On International Women's Day, DU's women students locked inside hostel complex; not allowed to play Holi

Women students are upset over being locked up in their hostel complex on International Women's Day — that's what is happening at Delhi University (DU). The varsity administration, in light of instances of eve-teasing during Holi on the campus, issued a notice yesterday, March 7, asking women not to come out of their hostels from 6 am to 6 pm today, March 8.

"But putting the brunt of such incidents on women is not the solution," says Manik Gupta, President of DU AISA (All India Students' Association). He narrates that two to three years ago, a group of people had entered the girls' hostel complex on Holi and the students had reported eve-teasing. Thus, this time, restrictions were imposed on all the women's college campuses and hostels, plus the girls not being allowed to join Holi celebrations outside their hostels.

After the notice was released, a delegation from AISA went to meet the Proctor at about 5 pm with a memorandum. However, according to Manik, he refused to accept it, and later in the evening, girls from the Rajiv Gandhi Girls Hostel (RGHG) gave out a call for protest. 

"They met the hostel warden and intimated her of the matter. The warden told them that they would have to submit an undertaking stating that the administration is not responsible for the women's safety if they choose to move out of their hostel during the restricted hours," the student said.

He expresses that the undertaking was again less of a solution, as safety is the administration's responsibility, and restricting women because they are victims of eve-teasing is unjust. In a video shared by Manik, the women students locked inside the hostel complex appear very frustrated. One of them is heard explaining that despite them submitting the undertakings yesterday, they found the main gate of the hostel complex locked today morning.

"We will play Holi! We will not tolerate a lock on the gate! We will not tolerate the injustice," the girls sing and protest in the video. Manik informs that the students are planning a talk on International Women's Day and will be raising this issue during its course, later in the day.

When contacted, DU Registrar Vikas Gupta said that he was not aware of the notice or the students' protest. "The hostels might have issued the notice from their side," he added.