There’s new quick-fix way to finding a great husband – just wear a long kurta, a collarless unisex tunic worn on the sub-Continent. Or, at least that’s what a college for women in the Indian city of Hyderabad is advising its students.
St Francis College has implemented a dress code: Students have been ordered to wear kurtas that are below knee length with sleeves while shorts, sleeveless or other similar dresses are banned on campus. This rule was implemented on August 1, but students are gearing up for action now.
As per Indian news website www.indiatoday.in, “several students were not allowed to attend classes as their dresses were not as per the ‘guidelines’.”
Apparently, students are out in force against the new rule, labelling it as being “regressive, backward and outdated”.
Sister Sandra announced a new dress code change in the middle of the year and her colleagues told our representatives that a long kurti would get us good marriage proposals. They told our representatives that standing up for a cause is blasphemous, raising your voice is blasphemous. This went against the very grain of our values as millennials of the 21st century. Things got worse, every day we were all humiliated for wearing a kurti that was just an inch or less above the knee, we were made to stand outside the college, losing out on classes and tests.
The Indian website reported that students had recorded a video of the implementation of the new rule: “One of the students, in the video, can be heard saying, ‘At a time when we are talking about women empowerment, such a diktat is against the entire campaign.’”
On social media, a former student of the institution Zanobia Tumbi posted: “Guys, remember the day you came to this college [St. Francis] for your admission? Y'all had a sense of admiration for the college and its activities. For many of my friends this college had a sense of simplicity that we all liked, a sense of calm. But ever since that first impression things have only been getting worse.
“Sister Sandra announced a new dress code change in the middle of the year and her colleagues told our representatives that a long kurti would get us good marriage proposals. They told our representatives that standing up for a cause is blasphemous, raising your voice is blasphemous. This went against the very grain of our values as millennials of the 21st century. Things got worse, every day we were all humiliated for wearing a kurti that was just an inch or less above the knee, we were made to stand outside the college, losing out on classes and tests.
“Things did not stop there, the college went ahead and hired female security guards in the pretext of security, these female guards were checking the length of our kurtis, they went ahead and pulled girls by their id cards and even pulled their kurtis. Now it's time we do something about this.”
“We can't just watch their internalized patriarchy ruin our college days, dictate our beliefs and lifestyles. We cannot be humiliated every day. There are girls who have said that they don't have the money to afford new kurtis, they were asked to leave the college. This has to stop. This is toxic.”
A sentiment shared on social media.
Ravali @RavenclawWitchh tweeted: “The same happens in St. Ann’s Junior College, Hyderabad too. We weren’t supposed to wear leggings, sleeveless tops, high side cut kurtis and the dupatta was compulsory. And that was an all-girls college!!
BaseBear @13ththirteen added: “We shouldn't be holding our breaths expecting our feminist NGOs [non-governmental organisations] to do something.”
Tumbi, along with others have called for a protest tomorrow morning.
She posted on Facebook: “… on Monday we shall not enter the college gate, we shall stand outside the gate in protest. This is the spirit of modern India that we will uphold. We are the makers of what is to become of India. We can't let this slide. So *Monday - 16th September 2019 at 9am* We all stand out of the college gate. I request all combinations to oblige, in our numbers is our strength. Please let’s all stand together and put an end to this.”
