Twenty-year-old zoology student Rani Choudhary left her family home in Bihar for the bright lights and freedom of the Indian capital. But like most female students in New Delhi she is barred from leaving her dorm at night except with the express permission of her father, thanks to a curfew designed to safeguard her in the city dubbed "India's rape capital". Wary of the city's disturbing reputation for sexual violence, universities force women to return to their dorms as early as 7:00 pm -- while their male counterparts can stay out much later.
With the Pinjra Tod ("Break the Cage") campaign, launched in August, female students are fighting back against what they say is outright discrimination. At a night-time protest in the capital, about a hundred young female students gathered outside a subway station singing as they held up placards proclaiming: "no more curbing late nights". Other slogans brazenly mocked the rules, declaring "I got a feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night".
Several of the nocturnal protesters wear dresses or skirts, defying warnings from parents or the university administration about night-time dangers in the city dubbed "India's rape capital". But for many of India's female students, the desire for independence also conflicts with family attitudes in the deeply patriarchal country. Choudhary is theoretically allowed out until 11:00 pm four times a month and is permitted to spend five nights away from her dorm -- but says it is impossible in reality.
Concern for the safety of young women is the main justification for the curfews put forward by the heads of university residences. The fatal gang rape of a medical student in Delhi in December 2012 left a profound mark on the capital, and violence against women has not declined since. A spokesman for Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi said a plan to reform the curfew was "under consideration".
Yet students argue that confining them inside is not the answer. The students are willing to allow their dorms to set a time to return by, as long as they are not deprived of a social life. A petition by the students addressed to the Delhi Commission for Women -- an official body responsible for upholding the rights of women in the city -- has collected about 1,200 signatures. Swati Maliwal, the president of the commission, promises to help the women fight discrimination. "I've requested the students to list all the discriminations they suffer from and I will work with them," Maliwal said.
Ira Trivedi, author of books on love and sexuality in India, says that as long as the gap between women's aspirations and the rules imposed on them remains wide, protests in cities will grow. "I think young women are developing the courage, confidence and know how -- and technology and internet help a lot -- to stand up for themselves and battle such conventions," Trivedi, the author of 'India in Love, Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st Century' stated. "They are beginning to realise how archaic these concepts really are."
