By Abdul hafiz lakhani Ahmedabad
In what was sure to have been a humiliating experience, 68 undergraduate students in a college in Gujarat were asked to strip their undergarments to prove that they were not menstruating.
According to the Ahmedabad Mirror, the women are residents of the hostel of Shri Sahajanand Girls’ Institute (SSGI) in Bhuj, Gujarat, and were allegedly paraded to the hostel washrooms and forced to remove their undergarments. It was done after the hostel rector complained to the principal that the “religious norms” followed in the institute are being violated. The institute’s mission reads “self-development and empowerment of girls through modern, scientific, and value-based education” but menstruating women are not allowed to enter the kitchen or touch fellow residents as per the hostel rules, the Ahmedabad Mirror reported.
The hostel has a boarding facility for 68 girls who belong to remote villages, the report further added. The hostel is run by the Swaminarayan Mandir in Bhuj and on the premises of Swaminarayan Kanya Mandir. The matter has not been reported to the police so far. Later, the dean of the institute, Darshana Dholakia told Asian News International that the incident has nothing to do with the institute.
“Everything happened with girls’ permission, nobody was forced for it. Nobody touched them,” she said. An inquiry team has been formed to look into the matter, she informed the media. The news has invited strong reactions on social media, including from several politicians.
Several tweeted “Gujarat model”, using a term associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP rule in Gujarat, but ironically. Before becoming the PM, Modi was Gujarat’s chief minister. Others sought to educate those on social media about menstruation. The rest were simply angry. :
“We do respect our institution, but what they did was not right. A legal action should be taken against them. We decided to call the media to throw light on the matter,” one of the complainants told ANI. The girl alleged that the principal of the institute blackmailed and forced them to withdraw the complaint. Bhuj College Girls Allegedly Forced to Remove Undergarments to Prove They Weren’t Menstruating After Hostel Warden Reports Students Entered ‘Temple and Kitchen’.
“The principal and a few others have called us and tried emotionally blackmailed us. He also told us to give in writing that everything is fine now. We want legal action and not just the apology from the administration,” she said.
Responding to the claims, Darshana Dholakia, SSGI Dean, said that an inquiry team has been formed to look into the matter. “The matter is related to the hostel and it has nothing to do with the university or college. Everything happened with the girls’ permission and nobody was forced. No one touched them. An inquiry team has been constituted to look into the matter,” she said.
Shocking allegations have been made by girl students against Sahjanand Girls Institute, Bhuj. If reports are to be believed, menstruating students were asked to undress and were checked by female staff members at the institute on Wednesday. Under condition of anonymity, girl students informed the media that they were asked by the institute management to come out of their lecture hall and made to sit in the corridor.
The management then inquired if any of the students were menstruating and asked them to proceed to the washroom. A lady staff member then asked the students to undress and then physically checked them.
The diktat has now landed them into trouble with both the state and the national woman commission. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that the government had taken the incident “very seriously”. The Government has issued orders to home department and education department to take strict action. An FIR was lodged yesterday,” he said.
National Commission for Women in a letter to issued to the media said that having come across the news in media reports, they were setting up an inquiry team and would visit the girls at the institute hostel to speak and inquire about the incident.The NCW said that it had also appraised the Kutch University in-charge Vice Chancellor Darshna Dholakia and the DGP of Gujurat, Shivanand Jha (IPS) to look into the matter.”National Commission for Women has written to the Sahjanand Girls’ Institute College Trustee, Pravin Pindora and the Principal, Rita Raniga to give explanation of this shameful exercise taking place in their Institute,” the letter added.
The Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani cannot wash off his hands by just ordering an inquiry. Why is the inquiry not headed by a woman? The least he can do is to ask the education department to cancel the recognition of the Sahajanand College and transfer the students to another college.
The trust which runs the college must be disbanded and not allowed to run any schools or colleges for the girls. The 68 ‘Draupadis’ must stand up for their honour. The ‘anti-menses mindset’ must be dealt with sternly by enacting new laws to protect the honour and dignity of women. To start with, let the ‘menstruating women’ cook food for wedding parties and government functions where food is distributed in Gujarat. The menstruating women should not only go into the kitchens but also come on to the streets with their blood-soaked menses pads to mock at the misogynist society.
