Menstruating Dalit girl in Tamil Nadu made to take exam outside class, headmistress suspended
A video, purportedly recorded by the girl’s mother, showed her writing the exam on a staircase and was shared widely on social media on Wednesday.
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In the video, the girl, who belongs to the Arunthathiyar community, purportedly explains that she was barred from entering her classroom after her teacher informed the principal that she had attained puberty. A 13-year-old Dalit girl in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district was made to write an exam on a staircase outside her private school’s classroom, just because she was menstruating.
The headmistress of the higher secondary school in Senguttaipalayam village has been suspended over the incident, said top officials in the district school education department.
A video recorded by the girl’s mother, showing her writing the exam on a staircase, was shared widely on social media on Wednesday.
In the video, the girl, who belongs to the Arunthathiyar community, explains that she was barred from entering her classroom after her teacher informed the principal that she had attained puberty.
“If someone gets their period, does that mean they cannot sit inside the classroom and write their exams?” her mother is heard asking in the background. “Should they sit on the road and write?”
The school management had placed the headmistress on suspension pending inquiry.
A preliminary probe by the school education department and police found that the girl’s mother had simply requested separate arrangements for the girl to write the exam as it was her first period.
“Initial inquiry revealed that the mother had been aware of the arrangement. The girl, currently in Class VIII, began menstruating on April 5. She was made to take her science exam on April 7 and her social science paper on April 9 while seated on a staircase,” said a senior police officer.
“While the school insists the decision was based on the mother’s preference, the mother was offended at seeing her daughter writing the exam without even a desk. We have issued a show-cause notice in parallel to the probe by the school education department,” said the police officer.
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