Protests Erupt In IIT BHU After Female Student Allegedly Molested On Campus; 3 Women Share Their Experience

Another horrific incident has shaken the country after a female student was allegedly molested on the Indian Institute of Technology - BHU campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, three unidentified men were riding a bike and ambushed her.

The student alleged that the perpetrators kissed her forcibly and shot a video while stripping her. The incident happened on the night of November 1, 2023, and hundreds of students gathered to protest on November 2, 2023, morning. They have been demanding better security on the campus. The same night, the protest was called off because the institute assured students that it would take strict actions against the perpetrators and improve security.

Statement Of IIT-BHU Student

According to reports, the survivor has said in her statement, “I am a resident of a hostel at IIT-BHU. On November 2, around 1.30 am, I left my hostel for a walk. I met a male friend… We were walking together when… a motorcycle with three men approached us from behind. They parked their motorcycle there and separated my friend and me. They shut my mouth tightly and took me to a corner, kissed me forcibly, took off my clothes and recorded photos and videos. When I shouted for help, they threatened to kill me. They let me go after 10-15 minutes. When I ran towards my hostel, I heard the sound of the motorcycle. Then, I hid at the residence of a professor, who took me to the security officials.”

This is not an isolated case in an educational institute in India, but sexual violence and harassment have been on the rise in India. According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2019-2021, crimes against women grew from 56.5% in 2020 to 64.5% in 2021.

Are Women Safe In Office And Colleges Campuses?

A few years back, I was working with an IT firm. There was an official party to celebrate the success of the company and its growth, and everyone was drinking. One of the managers took it as an opportunity to speak with me in the name of mingling with new colleagues.

He passed comments that made me uncomfortable and offered me a glass of drink while sitting on his knees in the middle of the party. Before he could advance and touch me, I ran from there. When I complained about this to my immediate manager, he said that it was quite normal in the corporate culture. I asked him in a raised voice and tone of disappointment, “Harassing and making employees uncomfortable is normal in a corporate party?” He said I was unnecessarily exaggerating it all. I filed a complaint against the person, but no action was taken against him. I ended up leaving the job a few months later.

According to a press release by the Press Information Bureau, Government of India and Ministry of Women and Child Development, the incidents of ‘Sexual Harassment includes Sexual Harassment at Workplace’, and it has increased with time. According to the report, the registered number of cases under this category was 539 in 2016, and this number stood at 965 in 2018.

The sad reality is that these are just the reported cases. Most of the cases go unreported because the survivors are either threatened or given false hope. They are made to feel guilty that a police report would ruin the career of the perpetrator.

Women Share Personal Experience

We spoke to women who shared their personal experiences of surviving sexual harassment in the workplace.

"He Just Touched You, He Didn’t Do Anything Else Right?"

Poorva Tiwari is an associate content developer in Bengaluru. She was working with a famous EdTech firm. She said, “My manager sexually assaulted me, and I didn’t file a complaint about him.” The reason was her HR who asked her, “He just touched you, he didn’t do anything else, right?” She resigned from the place but not before confronting him. He told her that he took the wrong signal.

Narrating the incident, Tiwari added, “Just prior to the assault, he was asking me about how my relationship with my boyfriend is going, and I replied that I’m having studies at my priority now. He took this as a signal that maybe I did not have a good physical connection with my boyfriend, and so he searched for a place which was not covered by the camera and started to put his hands on my thigh and upper thigh regions. While doing this, he was normally talking to me and didn’t make any eye contact. I was stunned, and even after the incident was over, I was so panic-struck that I remember calling my colleague and saying, ‘I think Surya sexually assaulted (Guide To Identify Sexual Assault) me.’”

"We Were Talking Casually When He Touched Me"

Kritika Pun lives in Mumbai, and she experienced workplace harassment while working as a trainee with an MNC firm in Hyderabad. She met a colleague, who was helpful and became her office buddy. “He had this thing he used to touch people a lot while talking. A few colleagues even called out him for his gesture, but I never felt wrong,” Pun shared.

Narrating her experience, she said, “One day, he asked me for coffee, and we went to the pantry. We were talking casually when he touched me while talking, and that was the very first time when it felt wrong.”

Initially, she thought that she was overthinking. In the evening, the man offered to drop her at home. “Raaste me wo baar baar kabhi mere baal toh kabhi peeth par haath rakhne laga (He was frequently touching my hair and back). I was not comfortable, I told him to drop me in between, maine bahana banaya ki ek friend ke saath plan ban raha hai (made an excuse that a friend would meet her in the middle).”

The next day when the guys asked Pun for a coffee, she initially refused, but he insisted. In the pantry, he asked what she was wearing underneath. “I was shocked,” she added. He kept up with his behaviour. When Pun spoke to other colleagues, they told her that a superior person in the management had his back, therefore, there was no point in complaining.

Pun shared that she was in a trauma and kept thinking that she trusted the wrong person, someone who had also molested other women in the office. “I left that place soon, and it has been seven years, but that incident still haunts me,” she added.

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"Gol To Tum Kahin Or Se Ho"

Ankita Bangwal is a lifestyle journalist living in Delhi-NCR. She was working as a trainee in a renowned media organisation, where she was made aware of the bad behaviour of her boss. Since she was a newbie, she did not want to be in the bad books of her supervisor.

He used to call her to his seat and ask the person questions about relationships, household, etc. If she did not go to his seat, he used to call her with a work excuse or humiliate her in public.

One day, he appreciated her. She replied, “Sir main apne kaam me gol hu ekdm, mujhe aur bhi bahut kuch seekhna hai (I still have to learn a lot because I am zero when it comes to work).” He said, "Gol toh tum kahin aur se ho (He said that she had a round figure)," and smiled.

The next day, he called her in the office and said she was not doing any work that was being assigned to her. He humiliated her in front of her colleagues, and that jolted her. She said, “I only have two hands, and I can manage only a limited amount of work. If you don’t keep calling me to your seat and waste my couple of hours every day, I will be more productive.”

“First Time, I stood against him. I felt good and confident,” Bangwal added. That day, she also decided to leave the job.

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The one thing that is common in all the above incidents is survivors switched their jobs, but perpetrators enjoyed their life. They did not suffer the trauma or had to look for another place to work. They never felt uncomfortable in anyone’s company or doubted someone’s intentions.

Whether on college campuses or in offices, women do not feel safe. Their reported as well as unreported experiences say a lot about how despite strict rules, perpetrators walk free, while survivors suffer through traumatic memories. We need to do better.