Students across Mumbai plan debates, campaigns, demonstrations to highlight issue, with SK Somaiya College students pledging ‘zero tolerance for sexual harassment’ as their resolution for 2013.
A series of attack on women has changed the sentiments of people ahead of the usually high-voltage celebration of Christmas and New Year in the city. The incidents are making youngsters think of an out-of-the-box New Year resolution.
Boys of SK Somaiya College have pledged ‘zero tolerance for sexual harassment’ as their resolution for 2013. Amit Gupta, a TYBCom student and NSS leader, said, “The initiative was chalked out two months ago when we decided to take a pledge. After the recent attacks, we have decided to extend the pledge to a New Year resolution. We will protect the girl students in every possible way.”
Students of University of Mumbai have also come up with a pledge. “Our New Year resolution is to stop ignoring eve-teasing and start punishing the teasers,” said members of Students Federation of India who organised a peace march on Friday at Kalina campus..
There are some students like Zenia Motiwala whose New Year resolution every year is zero tolerance to sexual harassment. A student of MSc at St Xavier’s College, Motiwala says, “I never tolerate any kind of harassment, so this (zero tolerance) is in my resolution list every year.”
Joshi Bedekar College, Thane, and VJTI, Matunga, have planned a debate on sexual harassment in the first week of January 2013. SPN Doshi women’s college, Ghatkopar, has framed a few projects based on gender issues for the New Year.
To take it up on a larger platform, Jai Hind College has taken up a dozen schools and colleges in the sensitisation campaign. A self-defence demonstration was conducted on Saturday.
Prof Vibhuti Patel of SNDT university, who led a huge demonstration of students at Dadar on Saturday along with several groups, says, “Our streets are becoming inaccessible to women and we have to resist moral policing that will use this vulnerability to push women back in time.”
There is enormous outrage among the young who now feel that government agencies have failed to stop crimes against women. People are realising they have to take action themselves.
Students make educative one-minute films
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