In India's conservative capital, hundreds gathered on Sunday to protest sexual violence against women by participating in a 'SlutWalk' march.
Sparked by a Toronto police officer's remark last winter that women could avoid being raped by not dressing like "sluts," the marches have been held in cities around the world.
In New Delhi, about 500 protestors braved the sweltering July heat to carry placards that read, "Change your thinking not your clothes" and "Our life, our body, our rights."
Globally, 'SlutWalks' are usually marked with short skirts, fishnet stockings, lingerie and painted words emblazoned on participants' bodies.
However, India is still a largely conservative country, even as millions of women now work outside their homes. Most marchers wore jeans, T-shirts or salwar-kameezes, an Indian tunic paired with loose pants.
"We're walking for a cause and we're dressed in the same clothes that we wear every day," organizer Umang Sabharwal told The Associated Press ahead of the march.
'SlutWalks' have been held in Boston, Seattle, London and Sydney, Australia after Toronto's inaugural march last April.
Toronto's march saw thousands of protesters outside the Ontario legislature rally against the officer's remark at York University's Osgoode Hall in January.
Students and staff who were furious that the officer told a group of students at a campus safety information session that they could avoid assaults by not dressing like a slut organized the walk.
The march condemns the notion that a woman's appearance can explain or excuse rape and sexual harassment.
In India, public sexual taunting or groping of women, known as 'Eve teasing,' is common and despite modernization, attitudes towards women are still largely patriarchal.
A government-backed United Nations survey found that 85 per cent of women in New Delhi are afraid of being sexually harassed.
"I think Delhi is the city that needs the 'SlutWalk' the most," Sabharwal said. "Everyone knows what the environment here is like for a woman and I think the reason why it happens the most is because we accept it."
India's National Crime Records Bureau recorded more than 20,000 rape cases in 2008, up 18 per cent from 2004.
But most cases still go unreported in the country because victims fear having to face male police officers who might dismiss or deride their complaints.
With files from The Associated Press
