Girls staying at PU hostels lament late entry fine,university defends ‘age-old’ tradition

Contrary to this,the prospectus mentions no such rules for boys’ hostels,except that they need to make an entry in the register after reaching hostel at night. However,when Newsline talked to a few residents of boys’ hostels,it was found that the register is maintained only for the visitors and the guests,and regular residents do not make any such entries.

“This is complete gender discrimination,” rues one of the residents of the girls’ hostels.

Talking about the issue,Kalpna Mahajan,former Dean Student Welfare (women) said,“Safety of girls is our priority and rules are meant for that.” Recalling the December 16 Delhi gangrape incident,she adds,“Security in hostels is the prime reason why parents want their daughters to get admission here and not let them stay outside.”

Asked about the absence of such rules in boys’ hostels,she said,“This is the basic nature of our society. Even the families do not question their sons when they report late to home. But we need to take proper care in case of girls.”

Echoing the same line of thought,Professor Navdeep Goyal,Dean Student Welfare (DSW) said,“Safety of girls is paramount,while no such need has ever been felt in case of boys. However,off late we are mulling over introducing a system where late entries in boys’ hostels will be made only through their ID cards.” Goyal also said that PU offers far more liberty to its students as compared to other universities or colleges,where entry in hostels is closed by five or seven in the evening.

“It is the age-old mindset – that girls need to be protected while boys do not – that we need to change. We would also like to be as independent as boys. It seems like the boys are the privileged ones,with no strict enforcement of rules,” complains another resident of the girls’ hostels.

The boys,however,are divided on the issue,with some calling the rules “partial”,others justifying it,saying,“Girls need to be back on time. It is okay for boys (to be out late)”.

“These rules emerge from the tradition of protection of women in the society,” Dr Manvinder Kaur,Department Of Women Studies said,adding,“But,they should be equal for both boys and girls in the campus. Boys are equally susceptible to threats as girls are in the present world.”