Girl students seeks Guv's intervention to stop 'harassment'

Over 400 girl students of a university in north Kerala have written to Governor P Sathasivam, seeking his intervention to stop "acts of harassment" they face in the varsity campus from students of certain departments and anti-social elements from outside.
The complaint, signed by 444 girl students of University of Calicut, said acts of violence and harassment of women students are increasing day-by-day at the campus but security and safety of women are given "little importance" by university authorities.
A similar letter has been sent to Kerala High Court Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan, a student leader associated with the move said.

The university authorities today said steps have been taken to ensure safety and security of girl students in the campus.
"Instruction has been given to all department heads, teachers and non-teaching staff in this regard," a top university official said.
The girl students said that more than 80 per cent of the students are girls in the campus.

"Despite numerous complaints being lodged with university authorities and police regarding acts of harassment, verbal threats, physical violence, the insulting use of obscene language and gestures, teasing in public places and on campus roads, objectionable bodily exposure and suggestive behaviour, no action has been taken by the authorities against the perpetrators of these criminal acts," the petition said.

"Due to these acts of harassment by both the students of certain particular departments/centres and by anti-social elements from outside the campus, we are constantly under threat and live on campus with terrible fear. We are unable to pursue our studies or engage in normal day-to-day activities with any freedom," it said.
Noting that there have been several governmental and judicial directions repeatedly urging and instructing the university to put in place comprehensive measures and systems to protect girl students, they alleged that "the university is yet to do anything at all regarding the same".
They urged the Governor to intervene and take steps to "ensure that women students at the university can live and undertake their studies and research with safety, security and the freedoms assured by the Constitution and the laws of the land, and that perpetrators of these criminal acts and their protectors are punished in an exemplary manner".

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The Governor's office said that it had received an
interim report from the Vice-Chancellor with regard to the complaint.
A university committee was also looking into it, an official said.