India, Oct. 5 -- The slogans are new, invoking samosas, kachoris, chai and suttas (cigarettes). The message is as old as the nation: Women protesting against sexual assault. But with a added twist of the right to equal public space.

Ek sutta do chai, mard jaati hai hai.

A series of sexual assaults through the month of September has seen the rage and anger of women spill onto the streets starting on September 23, days after a 17-year-old was gang-raped by three men at the Aastha Kunj Park in Delhi. One of the accused men was caught following a shootout by the police at the gates of the Lady Shriram College (LSR), located just two kilometres from the park.

The women's college, ranked among the top in India, shifted classes online for a d...