Hostel prohibits students from leaving the premises from Sunday night to Monday evening 'in view of their safety'
Just ahead of Holi, International Students' House for Women has been slammed for putting up a notice that prohibits students from leaving or entering its premises from Sunday night to Monday evening, "in view of their safety". The hostel has allowed inhabitants to play Holi within its premises only.
"Holi is a festival of colours. To make it enjoyable for all of us, following decisions have been taken in the interest of residents. Residents and their female guests will not be allowed to leave or enter the hostel premises from 9 pm of March 12 to 6 pm of March 13," read the notice put up by DU's International Students' House for Women.
"No late night permission will be granted on Sunday and no male visitor will be allowed to enter the Hostel complex on Monday," it added.
The notice put up by International Students’ House for Women
Irked at the notice, women students in the varsity called it "illegal confinement". "This is not for the first time. Every year, women students across colleges and universities are forcefully confined inside hostels on the main day of the festival. They are also not allowed late nights or night-outs on the pretext of 'safety'," rued a hostel resident.
Echoing her sentiments, Devangana Kalita of the Pinjra Tod campaign said: "What else can one expect from a government and administration keen on drawing the Laxman Rekha for women? What else can one expect from a festival that celebrates burning alive of a Bahujan woman, Holika, by a Brahmin God?"
"The rise in incidents of sexual violence and harassment that women experience around Holi is barely addressed. Instead, women are locked up for their "own safety" and arbitrary restrictions are imposed on their mobility," she added.
The notice surfaces in the backdrop of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi's controversial comment on early curfew hours for women students in order to protect them from "hormonal outbursts". Following which, women students from various varsities protested outside the Women and Child Development Ministry, demanding a public apology from the minister.
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