At a time when candidates have been campaigning with a good number of people sloganeering for the upcoming DUSU election, independent movements like Pinjra Tod, which have made the campus vibrant with their protests and discussions, choose to remain aloof from the whole affair.  Pinjra Tod is an independent group that brings to light issues pertaining to women. It started as a movement two years ago with regular discussions and meetings on women’s hostels’ curfew time, presence and activity of internal complaint committee for sexual harassment in colleges have been organised on a regular basis as part of this movement.

The students involved with Pinjra Tod have no intention of taking their demands or seek political affiliation. Vibhuti, a student of SGTB Khalsa College and a member of Pinjra Tod, says, “The individuals who are a part of our movement may have their ideological affiliations with one student wing or the other, but as a movement, we are not backing any political party on the campus.” She admitted that DUSU elections do matter, but the contesting student wings are more concerned about coming to power than solving the issues.

On being asked if Pinjra Tod would consider direct involvement in the electoral process as an option to put their demands forward, a student said, “That would completely destroy the credibility of the movement. When we go to the Vice-Chancellor and other concerned offices with our demands, we go as a students’ movement. We have also acquired a nation-wide status for intersectional feminism. Movement would lose its essence if it aligns with any particular political party because all of them have their own problems.”

Pinjra Tod has faced and continues to face political pressure from the ruling outfit on campus. They have been labelled ‘anti-women’ and ‘pseudo-feminists’. The members of the movement claimed they received threatening calls from ABVP members when they first started protesting against the curfew time of women’s hostels, who have been in DUSU since the past four years. ABVP had repeatedly disrupted Pinjra Tod meetings with chants of “Bharat Mata ki jai”. A Pinjra Tod member from Miranda House says, “They have just assumed that if it is women from various backgrounds themselves talking about women’s issues, then we must have left or centre-left affiliation. This is not the case. Yes, AISA has been actively extending their support, but there are problems with AISA too. It is just a better alternative.”

Pinjra Tod’s problems with AISA include, “Within the Delhi University space, they have very less organisation. Yes, AISA does have women candidates but only selected women are given the space to speak. Their politics is problematic in the sense that Left-oriented parties keep targeting each other and do not talk about pertinent issues.”

The students involved with Pinjra Tod deemed the involvement of NSUI insignificant in the time frame that they have been operational. However, they added that much tokenism goes around in the name of fighting for women’s issues. A student added, “The same people who have said that they would make the campus fear free for women students go around employing the macho personalities who have no qualms harassing you during campaigning.” Also, the students seemed critical of the fact that ABVP has included demands of an “I feel safe” app and NSUI has been campaigning to install CCTV cameras and sanitary pad vending machines, but the political outfits are wary of the conversations around gender.