“Achhi laadki derr raat tak bahaar naahi reheti,” is a line that every girl is familiar with. Going up the escalator of the G.T.B. Nagar Metro Station at 10:15 PM in Delhi, there were sounds of songs for freedom. Police surrounded this group. There were girls singing and dancing in the quest for freedom. Freedom of Life. When a man above 18 years can take stay out late at night, then why can’t girls? Numerous institutions including Jamia Milia Islamia had imposed restrictions
Numerous institutions including Jamia Milia Islamia had imposed restrictions on girls who faced disciplinary actions upon breaking them the In the 21st century where the girls are going to space, imposing a curfew after the sun sets shows the intellectual deficit that the society is facing. The worst part is, we saw numerous leaders including Sheila Dixit warning women to not to roam around at night. At a time when the world calls for gender equality, why are there a different set of rules for men and women?
I had the privilege to talk with one of the activists of Pinjra Tod. Let’s hear from her what’s this movement called Pinjra Tod is all about.
(Transcript)
“Basically, Pinjra Tod is an autonomous women’s movement which had been working in all the universities including AUD, Jamia, Delhi University, JNU. All these years, we had been fighting about the issues of hostels in universities about these curfew timings and securitization that university is actually putting on girls.
How can a university impose securitization of women in the name of culture and traditions? All they say is that you can’t go out of your places and hostels after 6 PM. They say every time, “It’s about your culture.” But all the women in the universities have come out and said to those authorities that see we are not going to accept these ‘laxman rekhas‘ that you offer us because we, the women, are beyond these laxman rekhas that you offer us.
That’s why this Pinjra Tod movement has been working on various issues. We did this march today in solidarity for what happened in BHU. We have been constantly asking the authorities of the universities to make ICC complaints committee and how there has been a movement in JNU about GSCASH. It has been our constant demand that we want universities to form these institutionalized redress mechanisms for sexual harassment but over and over our demands are left unheard by these authorities. So, today this solidarity march was with the students of BHU. We got to know that few hours before, BHU students who were actually protesting in Jantar Mantar were detained.
So, we want to say these college authorities that see we condemn all your moves we want these institutionalized proper mechanisms in our universities so that all the women in the universities can actually put forward their problems and report these sexual harassment cases which prevail in the universities as well as outside universities.”