THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the state government is making aggressive interventions to promote gender equality and empowerment by launching initiatives including Night Walks and ‘Public Space is Mine Too’ campaigns, women in the state continue their fight for equal rights as the efforts of the authorities could hardly make any change in the people’s mindset.
Kerala has witnessed multiple protests by students to fight harsh night curfews at women’s hostels attached to private and public educational institutions in the past few years. Yet again after a gap, protest has erupted among students demanding lifting of night curfew at college hostels of government medical colleges.
As many as 700 inmates of the women’s hostel at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital (MCH) are on a warpath demanding the same. As per the current rules, students are not allowed to leave or enter the hostel after 10pm. The students have already taken up the matter with the MCH principal and director of Medical Education but failed to get any result. The students are planning to launch a mass campaign and take it up with the health minister.
It is learnt that there is ongoing protest on medical college campuses in Kottayam and Alappuzha raising the same demand. According to students, the night curfew is totally inappropriate for current times and the restrictions are applicable only at ladies’ hostels.
“The timings are not applicable for house surgeons and PG students. We are studying a professional course and such curfews question the freedom of women. We are all grown up and are capable of taking care of ourselves. We are literally locked up after 10pm and are not allowed to move around even from one block to another. They don’t enforce any of these restrictions at the men’s hostel which is also on the same campus. We want the authorities to lift the night curfew. We also get night duties and we are not allowed entry at the hostel if we want to come to our rooms while on duty after 10pm,” said Devu Jayan, a student and college union secretary.
She said the authorities did not respond well to the demands of the students. “We have sought the intervention of Kerala State Youth Commission. We are planning to launch a mass campaign and take it up with the health minister,” added Devu. In 2019, the higher education ministry under the Kerala government had issued an order extending curfew time after 9.30pm for all women’s hostels of colleges in the state following massive student protests.
“They are denying us freedom just because we are one or two years younger than the house surgeons and PG students. We are unable to go out after 10pm if we have a personal emergency or academic one. Despite having all these restrictions, antisocial activities by outsiders are happening within the campus and we have taken it up with the police. Restricting us or confining us inside the hostel is not helping ensure our safety. We need our freedom,” said , MCH Thiruvananthapuram medical college union vice-chairperson Devika Shankar.
Earlier, students of Sree Kerala Varma College and College of Engineering Thiruvananthapuram staged massive protests demanding extension of the starting time of curfew. The students even moved the Kerala High Court and managed to get a ruling extending the starting time.
Daya Baburaj, another student at Thiruvananthapuram MCH, said the demand to lift curfew has been a long-pending one. “Whenever we raise the demand, they always talk about our safety and security. We took it up with the principal but they were not ready to lift the curfew. We have decided to take it up with the higher authorities. We are all doing the same course and restrictions are being imposed only on us which is unacceptable. Time restrictions are not being implemented at the men’s hostel. Also, many students had to face bad behaviour from the security and other staff at the hostel because of the curfew. That is one of the reasons why we decided to launch this campaign,” said Daya.
When contacted, the director of Medical Education refused to comment on the issue. Assistant ladies hostel warden Dr Premlatha said she hasn’t come across any such complaints. “I took charge only two months back. I have been following the existing norms. Such decisions are taken by the principal and other committees concerned,” said Premlatha.
Run for a cause
As many as 700 inmates of the women’s hostel at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital are on a warpath demanding to end the night curfew