700 Students of Kerala Medical College demand authorities to lift up Night Curfew on Women's Hostel

According to a recent report by TNIE, The existing rules strictly ban women students to leave or enter the hostel after 10 pm when there are no such restrictions applicable for men's hostels. Even though the students of MCH Thiruvananthapuram have taken up the matter before the principal and the director of Medical Education, they haven't got any positive response yet.

Now, the students are planning on initiating a mass campaign and take the matter before the Health Minister.

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As per the latest media report by the New Indian Express, apart from the inmates of women's hostel of MCH Thiruvananthapuram, students protesting in Kottayam and Alappuzha medical college campuses are also raising the same issues.

While commenting on the matter, a student and college union secretary told the daily, "The timings are not applicable for house surgeons and PG students. We are studying a professional course and such curfews question the freedom of women. We are all grown up and are capable of taking care of ourselves. We are literally locked up after 10pm and are not allowed to move around even from one block to another. They don't enforce any of these restrictions at the men's hostel which is also on the same campus. We want the authorities to lift the night curfew. We also get night duties and we are not allowed entry at the hostel if we want to come to our rooms while on duty after 10pm."

"We have sought the intervention of Kerala State Youth Commission. We are planning to launch a mass campaign and take it up with the health minister," she added.

"They are denying us freedom just because we are one or two years younger than the house surgeons and PG students. We are unable to go out after 10pm if we have a personal emergency or academic one. Despite having all these restrictions, antisocial activities by outsiders are happening within the campus and we have taken it up with the police. Restricting us or confining us inside the hostel is not helping ensure our safety. We need our freedom," said, MCH Thiruvananthapuram medical college union vice-chairperson Devika Shankar.

Speaking to the daily regarding the issue, another student pointed out that the demands have been long pending and she added, "Whenever we raise the demand, they always talk about our safety and security. We took it up with the principal but they were not ready to lift the curfew. We have decided to take it up with the higher authorities. We are all doing the same course and restrictions are being imposed only on us which is unacceptable. Time restrictions are not being implemented at the men's hostel. Also, many students had to face bad behaviour from the security and other staff at the hostel because of the curfew. That is one of the reasons why we decided to launch this campaign."

Meanwhile, the Director of Medical Education has refused to make any comments regarding the issue and even the assistant warden of the ladies' hostel denied coming across any such complaints. "I took charge only two months back. I have been following the existing norms. Such decisions are taken by the principal and other committees concerned," Dr Premlatha, assistant warden of the ladies' hostel said.

The daily further adds that the demands for lifting up the night curfew at the women's hostel have been long pending and back in 2019, the State Higher Education Ministry had extended the curfew time after 9.30 pm after a massive protest took place throughout the state.

In fact, students of other colleges in Thiruvananthapuram also staged protests earlier and demanded an extension of the starting time of the night curfew.

Later, they approached the Kerala High Court and arranged a ruling that extended the timing.