We Won! No More Curfew for Girls’ Hostel in Panjab University

We have won! 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia

It was a celebratory Sunday (16 December) for the students of Panjab University who finally got to end the 48-day protest against the sexist curfew timings for girls on a good note.

The protest had demanded an end to timing restrictions on the entry of girls living in the university hostel. Girl students at the Panjab University have been complaining about the strict hostel rules that are not imposed on boys. Despite having the same hostel handbooks for everyone, the ‘parental’ PU Dean Office charged a fine from women who entered the hostel after 11:30 pm. Even girls who forget to mark their attendance at 9 pm were fined.

It was unfair that the girls’ hostels had such complicated rules while the gates of the boys’ hostels were open 24x7.

After a protracted protest, the authorities have decided to relax the rules, but on the condition that students going out after 11 pm will have to make an entry in a register. A committee has been formed to figure out how it will implement the 24x7 ruling.

Nonetheless, I am very happy with this news. This was a fight for gender equality and we have won it. Now, we can step out of the hostel at any point of time without having the fear of having any fine imposed on us.

We have rewritten history again for the second time. The first time was when I was elected the first woman president for Students For Society of the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC).

The second time, history was rewritten on 29 October when women began protesting against hostel curfew timings for girls. They were led by the SFS, All India Students Association (AISA) and the Punjab Students Union, Lalkar.

This win was a much-needed one.

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