They Refuse to Be the Second Sex on the Campus

The college of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET) is one of Kerala’s premier technical institutes. Its female students are on a campaign to break a traditional ‘curfew’ that restricts their access to college facilities. The college’s library and laboratory both function till 9 pm, but girls are not allowed to be there after 6.30 pm as they need to return to their hostel which closes its gates at 6.30 pm. Meanwhile, male students can use the library and laboratory for several hours extra.

Student campaigns against the discrimination on social media platforms have now transformed into real action. Students have held signature campaigns, open forums and street plays outside the college in protest. “The college authorities are raising the same old arguments of ‘Indian culture’ [which they say is against] women stepping out after sunset,” says a student and inmate of the hostel.

The principal of the college, however, cites safety reasons. “They can use the library and lab facilities on a written request,” says S Sheela, CET’s principal. “We have security concerns. The staffers of the hostel are not ready to take the risk. We have a wi-fi facility and they can access whatever information online. It is not necessary for them to stay back on the campus after 6.30.” These words do not convince the female students, though. “We want freedom of movement. We know how to take care of ourselves. If required, they should enhance the security instead of curtailing our rights,” says Aiswarya KK, a final-year student of electronics and communication.

Because of the curfew, girls say, they don’t get good projects that require more time and research. “Girls are not preferred in team projects because of the time constraints,” says Aswathy R, a student of applied electronics and instrumentation at CET. As a next step, the students plan to intensify the agitation by boycotting the hostel after 6.30.

discriminationengineering collegeFemale studentshostel timingsKeralaprotest