’JJ’s dean has been harassing students since December ’18’

Dress code is not isolated, say women resident doctors; a 10 pm curfew, no-sitting-with-men policy, plans for a segregated library, chat groups to appraise parents of their activities, none of which applies to male doctors of JJ's medical college

'JJ's dean has been harassing students since December '18'

The female students also complained about being subjected to moral policing if they were found with male students. File Pic

Being instructed to not wear short skirts is only the latest in a series of alleged discrimination against female students of the state-run JJ Hospital's Grant Medical College. Ever since the new dean took over in December, restrictions have been placed on girls that include not being allowed to visit the library after 10 pm or speak to male friends. There are no such rules for male students.

On Sunday, the female students of the institute had protested after they were stopped from wearing short skirts, and asked to sit away from the male students. mid-day has got possession of two videos taken prior to the college fest Astitva that clearly show senior professors instructing the girls against wearing short skirts. A professor says in the video, "As per the instruction given by the dean, if anyone wears any shorts, short dresses or any vulgarity [is] involved, we will stop Astitva on March 23."

The students had protested on Sunday against the no-short-skirts diktat by the hospital authorities

"We were instructed by the dean to check female students' attire during the annual function. Being a government employee, it is our responsibility to follow the orders from the head of the institute. We can't be blamed for it...I won't be able to say anything more about this," said a professor who was part of the supervision team.

What 'ruckus'?

The authorities issued this diktat after a supposed 'ruckus' in the college at a Holi event on March 21. The student association, however, termed the incident as an excuse being made to justify the discriminatory rules.

A resident doctor, who is a part of the Grant Medical college's students' association said, "We read in the media about the ruckus in the institute. Being a students' association, we would have known about an incident like this had it been big enough for the hospital to issue such restrictions. All of these things are excuses being made to cover up the discrimination and diktats being issued by the dean."

As it turns out, this is only the latest in a long line of such limitations being issued for female students since December 2018, when the new dean, Dr Ajay Chandanwale, took charge. The college has also decided to make an in-house library for female students who reside in the hostel so that they don't have to go to the central library, which is located outside the hostel, to study at night. Students alleged they are not even being allowed to move out of the hostel after 10 pm. The hospital authorities claim those timings were put in place only for a day.

A female student who is also part of the students' association said, "There have never been so many limitations on women here. Earlier, male students were even allowed inside the girls' hostel. But ever since the new dean has come in, he has been putting all sorts of restrictions that had never been in place before. During TP Lahane's time, neither did we have any moral policing nor restrictions on what to wear. We have also spoken to our seniors to check about the same. He [Chandanwale] wants to bring back the 'glory' of the elite institute; we don't even know what that means."

Interestingly, there are no such rules for male students. The female students also complained about being subjected to moral policing if they were found with male students.

More moral policing

A female student said, "This [annual function] has been going on for years. Why are they suddenly deciding on what female students should wear to it, and restricting our movement otherwise? Even if they build a library inside, we still have to go out on duty calls at night."

Some female students have also claimed they are not allowed to stand with their male friends in the hospital premises. "We have been instructed to not stand with male friends near the temple or on the road at night. On Monday night, a male friend came to my hostel to give me a copy, but the guard asked him to leave citing the dean's instructions," said a female student.

If this weren't enough, the authorities have brought parents of the students into the mix, too. The hostel authorities have formed a WhatsApp group adding parents of all the first year female students. They keep updating the parents about the activities being undertaken by the institute, but no such group exists for parents of male students.

Dr Ajay Chandanwale

Dean says

Dean of JJ hospital, Dr Ajay Chandanwale, has refuted the claims. He said, "The timing restrictions for the girls staying at the hostel were only put on the day of the event. Now, everything is back to normal."

Chandanwale refused to comment on the in-house library for the girls' hostel.

Also Read: Mumbai: JJ medical students protest 'no short skirts' diktat

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