Pinjratod campaigners prepare block list for women PGs

"Pinjratod" campaigners, who have been running a movement against "biased" hostel rules for girls students, have now prepared a "block" list of women PGs to help save themselves from harassment by owners.
Pinjra Tod, which means 'break the cage', was started as a movement in 2015 at Jamia Milia Islamia University against discriminatory hostel rules for girls students.
The campaign grew out of a Facebook page where women hostel and PG residents shared their bitter experiences with guards, wardens, principals and landlords.
The campaigners have started an online survey on social media requesting all girls students, who have lived in PGs, to fill out a form so as to classify PGs on the basic facilities provided by them.

The campaigners will then prepare a block list of PGs based on the living conditions, high rent, undue interference by the owners and lack of respect for women's autonomy and other concerns.
"Firstly our universities are not sufficient of providing accommodation to all the students.

We approached the varsity officials to provide us with such a list but they told us that PGs were private property and they cannot interfere," a Pinjratod member said.
"We will publicise the block list across various platforms so that students know which PGs are to be avoided," she added.
Another campaigner said, "when girls set out to look for accommodation for themselves they face lot of harassment from unwanted questioning and harrowing glares of owners.

"We wanted to enable a platform where the applicants can look for a list of the places they should skip," she said.