Kerala: Protest against gender segregation in Farook college ends in clash

Farook College — a prominent institution under Muslim management in Kozhikode — adheres to a strict code of conduct which disallows free intermingling between female and male students.

Farook College is a prominent institution under Muslim management in Kozhikode

Students representing different factions clashed during a protest march against the management of a Kozhikode college that cracked the whip against girls and boys sitting next to each other in class.

Farook College — a prominent institution under Muslim management in Kozhikode — adheres to a strict code of conduct which disallows free intermingling between female and male students.

Last week, a Malayalam professor had reportedly asked nine students — four girls and five boys — not to sit together in the classroom. Later, they were asked to leave the class and report back with their guardians. Five students, who followed the college diktat, were allowed to return.

On Monday, a protest march was taken out against the incident by CPM’s student wing SFI. The march ended in a clash after Muslim organisations supporting the management tried to prevent the SFI protest.

Trouble began after Principal E P Embichikoya told students to counter the media campaign against the institute on Monday.

Students affiliated to the Muslim Student Movement, the Students Islamic Organisation and the Kerala Students Union raised slogans supporting the college management. As SFI activists took out their protest march, they clashed with students representing the Muslim outfits. The principal, however, said that the rules had been in place for a long time.

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