On Valentine’s Day, the students of a college under Delhi University, worship a different woman celebrity every year, mostly an actress who is referred to as ‘Damdami Mayi’. Poojas are performed around a ‘Virgin Tree’ and condoms full of water are hung over it. The myth is that the participants in the ritual tend to lose their virginity within six months.
This year, the protest against the practice generated conversation not just in the college but in the entire university. Across campuses, women have been struggling to end gender discrimination and this year the Progressive Front conveyed that they refuse to be passive observers of patriarchal jingoism.
“The struggle against the V-tree has been building up for the last three years and this year, when the protesters refused to be passive and obedient, they were seen as threats to the college and its legacy. We are ashamed that the college thinks that a misogynistic practice is integral to its history. The voices that were raised this year will not be silenced till the university space becomes safe and conducive for all,” they said.
“Students who had a problem with the event had been speaking to the organisers and students for two weeks prior to the event. Letters were also written to the college’s principal, but she refused to take any stance on the issue,” they added.
Shift in approach
According to Shaurya, a student, who was also one of the participants in the event, attempts were made by the boys’ hostel union to reform the practice. “This time, instead of a poster of a woman wearing revealing clothes, two posters were hung to promote the idea of love and marriage — one of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma and a rainbow poster which said: ‘Love knows no boundaries’” he said.
“But the narrative was realigned easily to cutting the tree. To prevent this, we tried to form a human chain around the tree,” he added.
However, one of the members of the Front said, “People were injured from both sides and several attempts were made at intimidating us even after the event. Nobody from our side initiated any violence. Whatever was done was only to counter the aggressive suppression of our voices.”
The fight to create safe spaces for women still appears to be a far-fetched idea.
