Can’t have rules violating students’ dignity: NCW

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 10:31:51 +0000

A team of seven members from the National Commission for Women (NCW) met the girls of the Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI) in Bhuj, Gujarat, who were allegedly forced by the hostel authorities to strip to prove that they were menstruating, The Indian Express reported.

The police have also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) including women personnel, inspectors and sub-inspectors to probe the reported incident at the college which is run by a trust of the Swaminarayan Temple. Statements of the students, apart from hostel staff members and other people who knew about the incident have been recorded by the police.

The members of the NCW who met more than 40 girls said that they were shocked to find out that a register was being maintained at the hostel to keep track of their dates of menstruation on which they were holed up in a room for three days and made to eat and sleep separately.

NCW member Rajul Desai said, “An educational institution works for social transformation. This transformation requires a change in our dogmatic tradition. But if such an incident takes place in 21st century, then this is definitely a matter of shame and disgrace.” She added, “We will get to know about the whole thing only after proper investigation. But we were shocked to find that a majority of girls agreed to this practice being followed in the name of religion.”

Expressing shock over the statements of the girls who said they were okay with the practice followed by the institution she said, “The response of the girls was shocking. While we talk about right to education, and while the commission is working to bring about legal awareness among women, the girls here said they consented to the rules framed by the hostel authorities regarding how they should eat and sleep during days of menstruation. We object to this,” adding that the NCW would also investigate if the girls were giving out such statements under pressure.

Desai also told reporters that the team would talk to the girls who weren’t present at the meeting today, citing that the incident was one about a “good and bad impact on society”. She asserted, “Should women in an educational institution be asked to follow such rules that put to question their right to dignity? No educational institute can force such a rule on girl students. Even if the institution is associated with religion, it cannot compel girls to follow such rules.”

While saying that the NCW team would probe the matter over the next two days, she said it also sought to find out if the college has an internal anti-sexual harassment committee with well-trained members.

Last Tuesday, over 60 girls at the institution were made to remove their undergarments by a woman staffer to check if they were menstruating. Four people – the Principal, hostel coordinator, hostel supervisor and a peon, have been booked in the incident.

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Four, including Principal, booked for humiliation of 68 girls in Bhuj hostel

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 08:39:20 +0000

Four people have been booked in an FIR in the Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI) case where 68 girls were allegedly forced to strip to prove that they were not menstruating. The National Commission of Women (NCW) too has taken suo moto cognizance in the matter and has set up an enquiry committee to probe the matter. The Gujarat State Women Commission too has ordered the state police to carry out an investigation.

The police have booked Principal Rita Raninga, hostel coordinator Anita Chauhan, hostel supervisor Rameelaben and peon Naynaben on charges of sexual harassment, extortion and criminal intimidation among other charges on Friday.

Students of the institute confirmed to The Indian Express that the administration kept the girls in physical isolation during their monthly period, but this was the first time the girls were asked to strip.

Students said the incident was triggered after a hostel staff found a blood-soaked sanitary napkin on the hostel premises. Post this the authorities wanted to identify the “culprit” who had “violated the menstrual cycle norms of the college”. The student said, “The warden informed the principal of the college and asked her to take action. They made an announcement and asked all hostel residents to assemble in the lobby where the principal threatened to rusticate us from the college if we protested against the check. One by one, they called us into the washroom where the female peon made us remove the layers of our clothes until we showed her that we were not menstruating. It was hurtful.”

At the institute which is run by the Swaminarayan sect of Bhuj, the girls are prescribed a set of rules to be followed during their menstrual cycle. They have to reportedly enter details of their period which is maintained in a hostel register and the dates of the period entered by the girls are tallied each month by way of a mandatory disclosure to be done by the girls.

A student said, “They have a register at the hostel, in which every girl must write her name each time her period starts. This girl is then asked to leave her hostel room and stay in isolation in a dimly lit room in the basement of the hostel building, with no contact with others. She is not allowed to visit her room or the dining hall or participate in prayers at the institution till she has her period. If she needs something from her room, she can tell her roommate to leave it at the door of the isolated room. Meals are served to her in separate utensils and she should sit in the lobby of the dining hall and eat.”

The students said that during their period, they cannot participate in prayers or have food with hostel mates in the dining hall. Their meals are given to them through a passage in the basement where they are kept for three days. Nor are they allowed to touch their teachers or classmates.

The girls who protested at the humiliation meted out by the authorities were asked to take a Transfer Certificate from the college, say students. Only 25 girls have come forward to lodge a complaint, as the families of others are closely associated with the religious order of the sect.

The girls who live in the hostel are not allowed to have mobile phones. Students say it was the day scholars who helped them in their despair and informed their parents about the incident.

The Vice-Chancellor in-chare, Darshana Dholakia of the Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kachh University (KSKVKU) to which the SSGI is affiliated, confirmed that the college administration did maintain such a register.

The VC has asked for the expulsion of the Prinicipal, hostel rector and the peon. Laxman Shiyani, secretary of the working committee of the SSGI said, “The students have complained against them and, therefore, we have suspended them pending an inquiry against them.”

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Bhuj Hostel | SabrangIndia

Can’t have rules violating students’ dignity: NCW

Four, including Principal, booked for humiliation of 68 girls in Bhuj hostel