Curfew timings and more: Why are DU students protesting
A women's collective on Monday shouted slogans of 'Azaadi' (freedom) on the streets of Delhi University's North Campus' Mall Road to protest curfew timing in hostels. The initiative is taken by 'Pinjra Tod' activists, who had last week submitted a list of demands to the Vice Chancellor of the University. Students threatened with protests if demands aren't met in a week. Here's more.
Students protest by blocking road, scaling gates
Dozens of students staged a sit-in protest outside Arts faculty. Some even tried to scale the gates but security personnel stopped them. Further, some students tried to block Mall Road and jumped in front of vehicles for the same. Police acted quickly. After the administration didn't budge, students protested all night long. They even accused police of manhandling, a charge officials denied.
After police's intervention, students and administration spoke
A student of St. Stephens College said, "Three policewomen grabbed my arms and waist and threw me to the ground, then spat the word 'whore' in my face." Notably, after police intervened, a meeting was held between Proctor, Deputy Proctor and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University and the students. The students have said if promises are not kept, they would launch another protest soon.
Curfew timing is discriminatory, feel students
At the center of this protest, is the curfew timing for women, which students claim is discriminatory. Notably, under 2016 guidelines of UGC, curfew timings can't be imposed on women on grounds of safety. While men have no rules, women have a curfew time ranging from 7:30-10:30 PM. Apart from timings, students are also protesting the rising fee and for 24*7 access to libraries.
Understanding the demands of students
The students have 18 demands in total, including abolishing local guardian rule, allowing 24 hours entry into hostels, construction of a new hostel for PwD students, ensuring availability of secure, non-discriminatory accommodation for all, providing clear break up of fees, and setting up ICC committee to address complaints of sexual harassment. The students want need-based, and not merit-based allocation of hostels.
