Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) has approached the Delhi Commission of Women with a memorandum alleging that Miranda House has framed “highly discriminatory and anti-women” rules for the students of SOL.
Earlier in January, an unsigned notice put up at Miranda House made news for apparently “banning” women students of School of Open Learning (SOL) from taking selfies, brushing their hair and modelling, claiming it as wastage of time. Principal of Miranda House, Dr. Pratibha Jolly, later said that the notice was only suggestive in nature.
Recently, the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan, an association of SOL students, has approached authorities on Tuesday, demanding a written apology from the college administration and to stop the discrimination against women students of SOL. The memorandum also demanded that “humiliating treatment against SOL students” should be discontinued and strict action should be taken against staff members if found harassing these students.
An official from the Delhi Commission of Women told The Indian Express, “We have received a representation from students alleging that discriminatory practices being adopted by college and such a misogynistic circular has been issued. We have asked for a point-wise reply from the college on the students’ complaint within seven days.”
Previously, the students of SOL also staged a protest against Miranda House’s college administration for framing “sexist and discriminatory” rules and had submitted a memorandum for the annulment of the notice, effective immediately. While the notice was withdrawn, the college staff resorted to collecting identity cards of the SOL students before every class.
On Friday, pamphlets were being distributed in the Miranda House campus in order to encourage other students to join their movement. The pamphlet stated that “Miranda House exercises an institutional bias” against the students of SOL. It also said that the selfies-ban notice was published only because of the social profile of the women students of SOL, and demanded an end to this discrimination. The KYS also called the notice an act of “moral policing” and termed it as “misogynistic.”
Image credits: Ifsha Zehra, Miranda House
By Anagha Rakta ([email protected])
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