#LadiesFirst: How The Pinjra Tod Wave Got Jamia's Hostel To Extend Its Discriminatory Curfew

How crucial has Pinjra Tod's contribution been to extension of curfews at Jamia Millia Islamia's women hostels

A week ago, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia hostel was not allowed to collect the food she had ordered because of curfew imposed on the female residents. This sparked another rageful protest from the women at the university. Chief among the protestors stood members of Pinjra Tod.

Pinjra Tod (breaking the cages), the autonomous collective comprising mostly of women, was first known for unleashing a wave of protest nearly 3 years ago. It became a movement against discriminatory rules and curfews that held women accountable for their freedom. The mass protests staged on the streets of Delhi had women students’ demanding a fair right to stay out until late at night. The protest wished to immediately remove patriarchal and unconstitutional curfew from all women’s hostels, but started from Jamia Millia Islamia.

On the evening of March 19, 2018, the Proctor at Jamia gave in to their demands to extend the curfew from 8PM to 10:30PM. Hostellers ran to the streets as they rejoiced their moment of victory.

The notice issued by the Proctor Prof. Mehtab Alam, read:

They (the woman students) may be granted a maximum of four late nights permission (till 10 pm) in a month with prior permission of hostel authorities and message from parents.

Earlier. the students had demanded a full 24-hours accessibility of hostel premises. However, that still remains a far-fetched dream. The women at Jamia would have to make do with these small acts of freedom for the time being.

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