Women from all age groups, including grandmothers and sisters of Jamia Millia Islamia students, took the lead in the protest on Monday against the alleged police excesses and the amended Citizenship Act, vowing to continue the fight for justice till their "last breath".
A few women, in their 60s, almost limped to the protest site in Delhi, while some accompanied their family members and classmates.
Ayesha Renna and Ladeeda Farzana, who have become the face of the Jamia protest after a video showing them standing up to the baton-wielding police personnel went viral, told reporters that the protest was a "fight to protect our existence" and that they fear no one but God.
"CAA and NRC are a direct attack on Muslims. Today, it's us. Tomorrow, it will be the entire country," the two women from Kerala said.
Renna, an MA History student, and Farzana, an Arabic student, were seen in a video protecting a colleague from the police as the Jamia Millia Islamia had turned into a battlefield on Sunday, with police entering the campus and using force following violent protests against the controversial Citizenship Act.
Aamna Asif, 21, a student of Economic Honours, said she was supposed to leave for home in the winter break, but now, she would not.
"Back home in Lucknow, my father is really worried, but my mother told me to keep the will to die and that we are all fighting for a cause," Asif said. "I will stay put here till we win this battle."
"When policemen entered the library, some women rushed to its first and second floor, switched the lights and hid behind the furniture and in the corners," Asif said. "The policemen pulled them out from there too. This is how we are protecting our daughters."
"It is not only about my children. This is about all those who have come here leaving their families behind," Kausar said. "These students have come from all corners of our country. All are our children."
"Our sisters and brothers were pulled by their hair and dragged on streets. Their clothes were torn and they were left for the dead," she alleged. "This is not Palestine. We won't give up until Amit Shah resigns."