Female Students of the Aligarh Muslim University Protesting.
My grandfather was a Hons. graduate from the Aligarh Muslim University; his impeccable English and the crisp letters he wrote made my heart swell with respect for him and the university throughout my childhood years. Truth be told, I even aspired to study at the age old university just to be a part of his lineage. But today after the appalling statement of the Vice Chancellor that women would not be allowed into the main library, all I did was roll my eyes and thank god that I didn’t think of acting on my childhood dreams. The university that has a long list of things that can distract boys, has added yet another item-women. Yes, according to the university, women are not allowed in the library of the Aligarh Muslim University because they distract men! I know, my eyes popped out too (right before I rolled them!) As if the sole purpose of a woman’s existence is to try her best to distract the men around her!
The university has already put a ban on western clothes or ‘modern clothes’ as they’ve termed it. Another absurd rule in the university is regarding the use of cell phones. Women are not allowed to have more than one cell phone lest they use the other one to contact male friends.
But coming back to the ban on women in libraries, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah said that it was to overcome the space issue and the issue is definitely not gender specific. (Hard to believe given the number of restrictions already placed on girls studying at this university, no?) According to him, boys follow girls to the library and there is not enough space for everyone. What I ask is how is that a girl’s fault? How? Did they ask the boys to follow them to the library, ogle at them and eve-tease too while they browse the bookshelves or follow them back out just to catcall or wolf whistle? I fail to understand how he has the audacity to blame the girls in all of this and justify himself too! I mean think about it: Girl enters library. Boy goes crazy in his pants. Girl thrown out of library. Some logic right?
What’s worse is that women are not even allowed to borrow books from the library to take home. Is the woman of today being denied the right of education at one of the most prestigious and oldest universities in India? Are we still discriminating women while hoping to give girls a better education and future?
It’s hard not to lose faith in the system where woman and mannequins can be just banned along with Chinese food of course, because all of this distracts men. Why not banish men all together so that we can roam around freely for once, be it on the road or at Aligarh Muslim University library? Don’t they seem to be the common problem factor after all?
Image courtesy: Twitter
More On >> Balancing Act
