In February this year, the administration of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) in Jammu issued two circulars. The two circulars, dated 14th and 19th February, accused students of Shivalik Hostel, one of the two halls of residence for female scholars of not returning to the campus on the dates mentioned on their gate passes and for not signing at the hostel gate. Two students were also accused of writing ‘PINJRA TOD- Break the hostel lock’ in the hostel register, which the authorities described as ‘crap’, and threatened them with disciplinary action.
While policing and restricting movement of women students is not something unheard of at SMVDU, the Pinjra Tod movement gained momentum in 2017 when the Vice Chancellor of the university started threatening and humiliating female students when they protested the installation of an additional gate in front of an already existing gate at Shivalik Hostel. When the students complained to the Vice-Chancellor that this move would affect them psychologically by making them feel more imprisoned, he dismissed them by saying that they should get themselves admitted to a mental institution. He further went onto say that those who had a problem with his administration should leave the university.
In response to the installation of the gate and other sexist rules of the university, a letter was sent to the Vice-Chancellor on September 28th, 2017. However, no reply was received. Instead, students were blacklisted and threatened with suspension and calling their parents for indecent conduct. When some students tried to raise the issue of gender equality, the authorities refused to listen to them. While the construction of the additional gate has been currently stalled, the sexist rules stay in place. For instance, if a female student wants to leave campus on weekdays, she needs to sign a gate pass, get it approved from the warden and head of the department while also explaining the reason for leaving.
However, there have also been cases where the authorities refused to let students leave campus in spite of having consent from their parents, leaving them helpless. Besides this, female students are expected to return to their residences by 8pm; they cannot use the library beyond 8 pm, they are not elected to student bodies and have to write down their personal details daily in the hostel register. Male students, on the other hand, aren’t imposed with any such restrictions. When asked for the reason behind such regressive rules, a student studying at SMVDU said, “The reason given by authorities for subjecting us to such impositions is safety and terrorist attacks, which is extremely lame. To prevent men from misbehaving with women, they lock us up. For example, on every Holi, the girls’ hostels are locked till 2 pm because they consider the university to be unsafe for women.”
According to the recent UGC guidelines against sexual harassment of female students and employees at institutions of higher education, the document states that “Concern for the safety of women students must not be cited to impose discriminatory rules for women in the hostels as compared to male students.” The document also clearly mentioned that campus safety policies should not result in over-monitoring and be curtailing freedom of movement for female employees and students. However, most colleges and universities in India indulge in moral policing of their female students while male students are mostly free from regulations. From curfews to dress codes to restricting interaction with the opposite sex and making it difficult to get permission to go out, women are subjected to intense scrutiny at every step. And the classic reason given by the authorities is ‘honour and safety of women.’
Caging women will not keep them safe nor will it help them pursue their goals. To ensure the safety of female students, college or university authorities need to understand that imprisoning women, building multiple gates or treating them like ‘delicate creatures who need to be protected’ will not prevent sexual harassment. Instead, men must be taught to respect women, and not treat them merely as objects of desire but as equal human beings.