One of the most famous and revered colleges in India and a seat for quality higher education, the Aligarh Muslim University is unique to the core in its own right. But a recent order issued by the college authorities regarding dress code and behavioural code for the female students have left many bewildered with amazement and raging in fury over gender biasness.
The order has been issued as a diktat meant only for female students of the university who must follow a strict dress code according to the management’s wishes. The order instructs the female students to religiously wear only salwaar-kameez to college and shun western outfits like jeans, T-shirts and skirts.
The provost of the girl’s hostel Abdullah Hall has even issued a notice in this regard along with a warning that states “anyone found violating the dress code will be fined Rs. 500.” When enquired about the notice, the provost Ghazala Parveen dutifully responded by accepting the responsibility regarding the issuance of the said notice besides stating that she has only acted as per the orders forwarded to her from the Vice Chancellor’s office.
Ironically, a few days ago, Gen. Zameeruddin Shah the Vice Chancellor of the college had made an appeal to the female students of the college on the same lines and urged them to wear “decent clothes” to college. The same appeal has now been transformed into an official order and thrust upon the students in the name of morality.
AMU authorities have not only stopped at this but they have also come with even harsher and stranger norms for the females stating disciplinary and austerity issues. They have prevented the girls from entering AMU’s central library named Maulana Azad Library whereas the boys can have easy access to the library without ambiguity.
The seemingly fictitious diktats do not stop here and they have gone even further by denying the girl’s the permission to use internet in their hostel. Here too, the boys are free to wilfully use internet wherever and whenever they want to. The notice also instructs girls to keep only a single mobile phone with them which too is contrary to what boys are allowed to. The girls can also not have their meals at their will wherever they want to but they must have it only in the dining hall.
“Such dogmatic orders issued for the sake of disciplining the girls are nothing but an attack on their freedom and sovereignty. Such draconian orders issued by the VC are nothing but a shameless effort by him to cover up the AMU’s pitiable state in education,” said an activist who considers that the university is suppressing the rights of the women while promoting gender biasness among its students.
A voice has been raised throughout the education sphere regarding the matter as a large majority of the masses feel that the university has gone against both human rights as well as violated women’s rights. Activists feel that education must not come at the cost of one’s freedom and no one has the right to intrude into someone else’s personal domain even if it is the university’s VC himself.
Tags:
Amu
Female Students
Colleges In India
Dress Code
