SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INSTALLATION OF GRILLS IN THE GIRLS' HOSTELS!!

DO SIGN TO SHOW YOUR DISAGREEMENT

CONDEMN THE PATRIARCHAL ATTITUDE OF AUTHORITIES ! RESIST THE IRRATIONAL DECISION OF THE AUTHORITIES TO INSTALL GRILLS IN THE HOSTELS !!

Recently the administration of Panjab University issued quite a bizarre decree. To address the issue of rising suicides in the past few years, it has decided to install grills in the balconies of Girls’ Hostels. More weird is that the grills will be installed only in Girls’ Hostels, although there have been cases of suicides in Boys’ Hostels as well. 

Is grills installation a solution to suicides?

Perhaps the university authorities have gone insane! What will they do if someone hangs himself/herself or touches a live wire? Take off fans or cut off electricity supply...
 

Suicides don’t happen because there are no grills in the balconies of the girls’ hostels. The reasons are much more complex and are rooted in the socio-economic conditions which compel an individual to take such decisions. Instead of addressing these issues which affect the psychological situation of a person, the authorities are trying to run away from it by taking such decisions, like that of installing grills.

Moreover the fact that the decision has been taken for girls’ hostels only brings forth the discriminatory attitude of the authorities towards its girl students. The gender discrimination which is deep rooted in our society is also visible in the campus, sometimes covertly and sometimes overtly. It comes to the fore in varied forms be it in the form of eve-teasing and harassment. In the name of security they are locked up in the hostels before specified timings. Further there’s a very limited space for girls in the university to assert themselves and hardly do they influence the decision making in the university. And even to get their petty issues resolved, there is dependency on their male counterparts. Due to the prevailing patriarchy in the institution girls already have a very less scope for interaction. This decision is an expression of the same gender bias. The decision to install grills will serve to further isolate them and have a crippling effect on their psyche.

On the contrary to installing grills, the need is to address the root cause behind the issue. The discontent among youth is rising due to problems like unemployment, job insecurities etc. A student has been delivered to increasing burden of performance in academics, over busy academic schedules, cut-throat competition. Not only this, once s/he has completed studies, s/he is to be subjected to unemployment. Further rising individualism has reduced the scope for interaction and discourses between people, thus aggravating the situation. And when a student is in distress there is no active platform or body provided by the University for counselling. 

We appeal all the students to condemn and resist this irrational and anti-woman decision of the authorities. To end the prevailing discrimination against women we need to speak up against any such decisions. We need to come forward and unite to fight against any kind of discrimination and all kinds of anti-women ideologies and practices which prevail in our campus and our society.

PROTEST AGAINST THE PATRIARCHAL & IRRATIONAL DECISION OF AUTHORITIES TO INSTALL GRILLS IN GIRLS' HOSTEL

CONDEMN THE IRRATIONAL DECISION OF PU AUTHORITIES!!!

RISE AGAINST THE PATRIARCHAL ATTITUDE OF THE AUTHORITIES!!!

Students For Society (SFS) today protested against the decision of PU authorities to install grills in the girls' hostel. The university authorities, to address the issue of rising no. of suicides, have taken a decision to install grills in the balconies of girls’ hostels.  The decision is totally irrational and not at all justified. Installation of grills doesn’t seem to be a solution at all. Rather it will further confine an already distressed person.

Instead University needs to think of plausible solutions to the issue addressing the causes behind it.

 Discrimination and violence against girls does exist in the campus and comes to the fore in varied forms be it in the form of eve-teasing and harassment. Further in the name of security they are locked up in the hostels before specified timings. Due to the prevailing patriarchy in the institution girls already have a very less scope for interaction. This decision is an expression of the same gender bias. The decision to install grills will serve to further isolate them and subject them to suffocation.     

It is too ironical that the authorities are not trying to understand the psychological conditions of girl students and on the contrary girls are further being caged behind the grills. It is also a tragedy that PU does not try to follow democratic environment of DU or JNU for girls where they enjoy more freedom.

SFS leader Amandeep Kaur said, “The attitude of the authorities is anti-women. The decision is totally irrational as it will not solve the issue of rising number of suicides, on the contrary it will further confine an already distressed person to isolation. Already there is very limited space for girls; the decision will further have a crippling effect on their psyche.” 

SFS General Secretary Damanpreet said, “The discontent among students is rising, compelling them to take such unfortunate actions. The authorities need to address the cause behind the issue. We demand that active platform/bodies be formed to counsel the students. Also there is need to activate the eternally dormant women cell to address the issue of girl students.”

The decision has provoked resentment in the residents of the girls’ hostels. Students condemned the decision saying that the decision is not at all justified as a solution to address the issue of rising number of suicides in the university. The organization alleged that authorities, instead of addressing the causes behind the issue, are trying to escape from their responsibility by taking such irrational decisions.

We demand:

1.      The decision to install grills in the girls’ hostels should be revoked immediately.

2.      Proper platform/body should be made to address the grievances and counsel the students which would be active and work democratically.

3.      The eternally dormant “Women Cell” be made functional and “Sexual Harassment Committees” be formed which would act democratically with considerable participation of students.

4.      As eve-teasing is rampant on the campus, whose main reason is the long queue of cars roaming outside the girls’ hostels. The entry of four-wheelers should be banned, at least in the vicinity of the girls’ hostels.

Memorandum given against Fee Hike in PU

A delegation of Students for Society (SFS) submitted a memorandum against 5% tuition fee hike for the upcoming session of 2015-16. SFS has also initiated a signature campaign against the recent fee hike. Till now more than 500 students have supported this campaign by signing.

SFS President Arishdeep Singh said, “We strongly condemn the proposal to hike fee by the fee committee. Since last few years there has been a tremendous hike in various fees. In this session also already course fees as well as hostel fees have been increased. Due to this continuing trend of fee hike, education is getting out of reach of people. As already fee of university although being a govt. institute, is sky-high, the proposed hike is not justified at all”.

Issued by

Arishdeep Singh

Protest Against the Lathicharge on the students of Punjabi University and Banaras Hindu University

LONG LIVE STUDENTS’ UNITY!!

RISE AGAINST PRIVATIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF EDUCATION!!

BAN THE ENTRY OF POLICE IN EDUCATIONAL CAMPUSES!!

STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH STUDENTS STRUGGLING FOR THEIR GENUINE DEMANDS!!

Students for Society (SFS) today protested against the yesterdays’ lathi-charge on Punjabi University and Banaras Hindu University students. Highlighting the repression that the students have faced in the recent past while struggling against the anti-student policies and for their democratic rights, student leaders of Naujawan Bharat Sabha and Ambedkar Students’ Association also addressed & condemned the incidents. The protest in Punjabi University started yesterday with students raising their demands like the problems of stipends and hostels for the research scholars, timing of the girls’ hostels. The issue of the implementation of the decision of rollback of fee hike was also in the frame. It is ample clear that the intervention of police in the issue was unwarranted. The students were brutally beaten up and tear gas was used. Heightening the repression in BHU, the police even fired upon the protesting students. The main demand in BHU was for a democratic student representation which instead of discussing issue called the police into action. It has been further learnt that in Punjabi University criminal cases have been registered against 22 students and that 2 students have been detained in BHU.

Most worrisome is the manner in which the police intervention has increased in the educational institutes all over the country, reducing the autonomy of universities to mere paper. Talking of the great participation in all progressive movements of the country SFS General Secretary Damanpreet Singh said “The University authorities had always used such measures to suppress the student dissent, as we have witnessed in Panjab University, Punjabi University (Patiala), Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi), Himachal Pradesh University (Shimla), Jadavpur University (Kolkata) and others. The phenomenon is in its continuity. But the root cause of the phenomenon lies in the Neoliberal policies that are bring pursued by the government, resulting in privatisation and commercialisation of education. So, the students have to come forward against anti-people policies and resist the every action aimed at curbing the democratic space and increasing intervention of police in the university campuses, and have to unite to build a healthy and democratic atmosphere.” He said that at one hand it is propagated that there is lack of funds for public education whereas on the other hand the same govt. goes on to give huge subsidies to corporates. The students demanded that the entry of police in educational campuses be banned and they raised the slogans of students’ unity.

Links: Lathicharge video in Punjabi University

Issued by:

Damanpreet Singh

General Secretary SFS

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