New Delhi: First came the slogans. Then came the rain. Umbrellas shot open across the crowd, handwritten placards were pulled closer and some students tried to shield their posters from the sudden downpour.But no one appeared to be going anywhere. If anything, the rain seemed to turn up the volume. “Hum leke rahenge azaadi,” the women roared, their voices carrying through a rain-soaked North Campus as they continued walking.At 3pm Monday, Delhi University’s Faculty of Arts became the starting point for another assertion by women that safety cannot come at the cost of their freedom. Under the banner ‘Hum Auratein Azaad Hain’, women from various colleges and members of the queer community gathered at Gate No. 7 before marching towards the Faculty of Arts gate opposite Daulat Ram College. The march eventually culminated at the Swami Vivekananda statue, where several women climbed onto the pedestal around it, placards held high as chants continued below.The march came days after the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park in southeast Delhi sparked protests and renewed conversations around women’s safety. Last week, women from several DU colleges had marched near Kamala Nehru College and LSR College, calling for safer streets, better lighting and accessible public transport, while opposing measures restricting women’s movement after dark.Monday’s demonstration came with a clear set of guidelines underlining that offensive language and sexist, misogynistic, casteist, homophobic or transphobic slurs, slogans or banners would not be tolerated. AI-generated posters and other media were also barred.On the road, the larger argument was told as much through cardboard and sketch pens as through speeches. ‘Hum azad hain sirf panno par’, read one handwritten placard. A few steps away, another declared: ‘Girls just wanna have fundamental rights.’ There was anger, but also wit: ‘Cutie nahi, kranti hoon.’ Another poster turned the usual questions about women’s whereabouts on their head: ‘Beti ki location nahi, bete ka intent check karo.’ ‘Mama raised a woman, not a coward,’ said another.The chants carried the same argument. “Rapist ko andar karo, ladkiyon ko nahi,” students shouted, rejecting restrictions on women as a response to sexual violence. Every few metres, another round of “azaadi” rose from the crowd, with voices from the back picking up where those at the front left off.For Sparshika, a Hansraj College student whose parents are in Dehradun, simply turning up was itself a decision. She said her parents did not want her to attend the demonstration despite it taking place during the day, citing safety concerns. “I cut the call and came,” she said. “We want basic things like being able to move out freely. If I don’t take this step now, my children will suffer even more.”Her words reflected a recurring theme through the afternoon — why should a woman have to calculate the hour before deciding whether she can step outside?For Shefali, another DU student, the problem also lay in the questions routinely directed at women after incidents of violence. “I find it ridiculous when people link the safety of women to their clothes and timings. What about children who are attacked? What do they do to provoke someone?” she said.Though women remained at the centre of the march, a considerable number of men gathered along its periphery. Some walked at a distance, while others clapped and cheered as the slogans grew louder. Among them was Aryan, a Ramjas College student, who said changing attitudes among men was fundamental to addressing the problem. “The mindset of men needs to change. That’s what is of fundamental importance,” he said.Sahil, a student of Kirori Mal College, said the conversation needed to move away from asking women to rearrange their lives around unsafe conditions. “The problem needs to be dealt with from the core. Nobody should have to see the timing before stepping out. This is so basic and still, they have to agitate for it,” he said.By the time the crowd reached Daulat Ram College, the rain had transformed the scene, but not the march. Clothes were soaked, handwritten posters had begun to curl at the edges and umbrellas jostled for space above the crowd. Some students squeezed beneath them, while others continued walking in the rain, drenched but still chanting.At the Swami Vivekananda statue, the march came to a halt, but the slogans did not. Several women climbed onto the pedestal around the statue, raising their placards above the crowd as others packed in below. Till the evening, the posters remained high and the chants continued, with the rain having done little to drown out the roar.