“I travel to and from college by public transport everyday and it doesn’t surprise me to come across a creep anymore. A lot of disgusting men stare and comment irrespective of what I wear. So when our college implemented a ‘long-kurti only’ rule, citing reasons like our safety, I was stunned. They insisted upon all students wearing kurtis that ended below the knees. Surprised but helpless, when I walked into college one fine day, in a decent kurti that ended just above my knee, I was stopped by the specifically appointed female guards, who screamed at me as well. I was angered beyond measure. And that’s when I decided that it was high time to make sure our voices were heard. So when many other students came forward with such complaints and decided to do something, I did not shy away.
As one strong unit of women, all the students of college started spreading the word around, gathering support through social and other forms of media, while planning a protest. In this journey I realized, through social media responses, that many students from different colleges in different cities face such forms of moral policing through hypersexualisation of women and their bodies. It bothers me why people choose to stay silent through this mistreatment and trouble just because of the fear of the management. Because there is absolutely nothing that can’t be achieved through the power of unity and we have proved it! Today morning, through a series of protests and displays, we managed to convince our management to disregard the ‘long-kurti’ rule and let us wear what we find comfortable, as long as it remains appropriate for college. So many students and professionals from across the city came forward and participated, involving themselves in this historic event. This is just the start but it has taught us that change can be brought about only through action and we must take action!”
#COLLEGE #EMPOWER #FREEDOM #STUDENTS #RULES #MANAGEMENT #UNITY #EXPRESS #CLOTHING #SAFETY #STEREOTYPES #FRIENDS #GUIDELINES #COMFORT #LIFE #SAFE #MISTREAT #EDUCATE #HYDERABADI #OBJECTIFICATION #PROTEST #HYPERSEXUALISM #STFRANCIS #WOMEN #COMPLAINTS #VALUES #FREEDOMOFSPEECH #TROUBLE #FEMINISM #HUMANSOFHYDERABAD