Agitated over Union Minister Smriti Irani's statement that girls are not dictated where to go and what to wear in India, the 'Pinjra Tod' activists who have been protesting "biased" rules for girls in university hostels, today staged a protest outside the HRD ministry.
"We have been raising the issue of biased rules for girls in various universities. If girls are not dictated, what are the hostel rule booklets about?" Devangana, a student, said.
Himanshi, another protesting student said, "We staged a peaceful protest outside Shastri Bhawan. A 15 member delegation met the officials and handed over a memorandum with rule booklets of various hostels attached."
The HRD minister last week had found herself in a spot when her remarks drew voices of dissent from an audience she was addressing.
"In India, I don't think any woman here is dictated what to wear, how to wear, whom to meet, when to meet...I am of the opinion, I don't think anybody is dictated here, you are not told," she had said while interacting with New York-based journalist Tina Brown at an event here.
The 'Pinjra Tod' campaign kicked off in September after the outrage over a circular issued by Jamia Millia Islamia barring girls from late entry into its hostels.
The varsity is revisiting its guidelines, after Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had issued a show-cause notice to it asking for an explanation why similar rules are not in place for boys.
Later, a group of students from DU, Jamia Millia Islamia, Ambedkar University, National Law University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, approached DCW about similar "sexist" rules at their institutions.
The campaign grew out of a Facebook page where women hostel and PG residents shared their bitter experiences with guards, wardens, principals and landlords.
