From hijab to jeans: At a Mumbai college, students fight together over the right to decide what to wear

While 50-70 students protested against the June 27 notice outside the college on July 1, nearly 20 students who wish to wear hijab in college were on a sit-in protest on campus between July 1 and July 4. Due to the ongoing stand-off between the students and the administration, besides the college security staff, a few police personnel have also been deployed on campus.

Established in 1978 by Chembur Trombay Education Society, over 2,100 students were enrolled in the college in 2023 for degree and postgraduate courses. The administration claimed the dress code was introduced due to “security concerns” over the entry of “non-students on campus”.

N G Acharya and D K Marathe College of Arts, Science & Commerce is located in Chembur, Mumbai. (Express)

Last year too, the college was at the centre of a controversy after it introduced uniforms for its junior college section.

Security issue and ID cards

A faculty member said, “The issue of non-students entering campus had become serious and led to uniform policy for Junior College (Classes 11 and 12) students. For the degree college too, a uniform was being considered but the administration went for a dress code instead.”

Students claim they had requested the administration to make identity (ID) cards on campus compulsory instead. A third-year student, who protested against the hijab ban, says, “If they are concerned about non-students entering the college, they can simply check ID cards at the gate and ask us to show our face to confirm the identity. How is banning the hijab a solution?”

Another student added that the college had “a problem” with some of them “wearing provocative clothing like strappy T-shirts, crop tops and ripped jeans”.

The notice, titled ‘Dress Code & Other Rules’, was issued by the college on June 27. (Express)

Students who wear the hijab have been allotted a designated place inside the college, the common room next to the chemistry lab on the ground floor, where they are required to remove the veil before starting their day on campus. A third-year student in a burqa told The Indian Express, “It’s one thing to ask us to not wear revealing clothes and another to tell us not to wear hijab or jeans and T-shirts. Teachers have been asking us to focus on academics, not protests. We are aware that our studies come first and also that our clothes don’t affect our studies. A few students in my class from my community wear jeans, but they support my choice to wear a burqa. Like me, they believe clothes are a matter of personal choice.”

Nine students had challenged the college’s hijab notice in the Bombay High Court, which dismissed their plea in the last week of June stating, “The object behind issuing the same is that the dress of a student should not reveal his/her religion which is a step towards ensuring that the students focus on gaining knowledge and education which is in their larger interest.”

Transition troubles

For some students, compliance with the notices has been difficult.

“For over two years, we were allowed to wear hijab in class. Now, we cannot even cover our heads with a scarf. It has been very uncomfortable for us to go from wearing hijab to sitting in class without any covering,” says another third-year student.

Talking about the June 27 notice, most students said buying trousers and shirts will be a huge expense for them. A second-year student says, “T-shirts and jeans are the simplest options for college students. While girls have other options, we (the boys) have very limited choices.”

Unlike the students in hijab, those in jeans and T-shirts are allowed to enter the campus for now with a warning “to not repeat the behaviour”.

Students said new rules should be applicable at the beginning of the academic year so that students can make an informed decision before taking admission to the college.

Meanwhile, the college administration said the protest by students in hijab was “contempt of the court order”. Principal Dr Lele says, “This dress code was declared in May, before admissions started. If hijab was important for them, they could have changed colleges at that time. We are even counselling parents of some students who wore hijab earlier and have sought a meeting with us.”

Stating that the administration suspects outsiders were instigating the students in hijab to continue their protest, she adds, “We are dealing with the situation patiently since they (the protesting students) are our students. Only 15-20 girls are protesting in the quadrangle (over hijab); almost 70% have agreed to follow the dress code. Many girls enter the college in hijab but remove it in the common room to attend lectures. They wear it again before leaving the campus.”

Relaxation period

On jeans and T-shirts, the administration has decided to give students a “relaxation” for the transition period. “We understand that students can take a while to make arrangements to follow the dress code. So we have allowed students in jeans to enter the campus with a warning, but this is only for a few days. Under no circumstances, torn or ripped jeans will be allowed in college,” she adds.

Meanwhile, Prahar Vidyarthi Sanghatana, a students’ organisation, has declared that it will protest outside the college if the dress code is not withdrawn.

The principal said the administration was “simply preparing” its students for the corporate world, where workers wear formals.

She adds, “We had a similar rule in the past, where students wore formals once a week. The only difference now is that they will wear formals all week save for one day, when they can wear casuals.”

In the past too, there have been instances of colleges issuing notices prescribing a dress code for their students. In 2014, Borivali-based Nalanda College of Law had issued a notice forbidding female students from wearing skirts, shorts and sleeveless tops. In 2010, V K Krishna Menon College in Bhandup had reportedly banned “figure-hugging jeans”, while Parshvanath College of Engineering in Thane imposed a ban on its students from wearing T-shirts and jeans.