Chanakya National Law University students hang out on campus on Friday and (above) All India Students’ Association members take out a march on Frazer Road demanding the implementation of Justice Verma Commission recommendations. Pictures by Ashok Sinha

All boys are not bullies. Some of them act as shields of girl students on the campus. They are ever ready to counter guys trying to browbeat their female peers.

Spotting such chivalrous boys is an uphill task on the Patna University campus for sure. But they are there.

Meet Vidyanand Vidhata, a final-year postgraduate history student at Patna University. He stands firmly against tormenters of his female peers.

Citing an instance, Vidhata said few months ago a girl of his department was being regularly eve-teased by some students of another department. “When the girl narrated the incident to some of us, we asked the boys to mend their ways. We told them that if they did not stop teasing the girl, we would inform the university proctor about their misdemeanour. After that, the girl was never eve-teased,” he said.

Jayshree, a final-year postgraduate student of history at Darbhanga House, said all boys were not bad. Some of them do protest against eve-teasing.

She said: “Girls feel safer and secured at women’s colleges than at co-educational institutions. But some male co-students in co-educational institutions always help girls.”

She said: “You will never come across road Romeos roaming around girls near co-educational institutions. But you can spot several of them outside the girls’ colleges like Patna Women’s College and Magadh Mahila College. It is so because there is nobody to challenge them at the girls’ colleges. They avoid co-educational institutions because they face stiff resistance from a section of male students there.”

Smriti Singh, a journalism student at Darbhanga House and an alumnus of Patna Women’s College, echoed Jayshree. “True, girls often come across eve-teasers. But at the same time, we do get moral support from some of our male classmates. They are always ready to help us.”

She, however, expressed her worry over girls’ uneasiness over discussing the gender discrimination issues like eve-teasing with their male peers even today.

Rachna Singh, another journalism student, seconded Smriti. “We do share gender discrimination issues with some of our male classmates but not with all. Some boys are more interested in defaming girls over eve-teasing than helping us,” she said.

Hetukar Jha, an eminent sociologist, said the relationship between male and female in our society is still confined to name-based relations like mother-son, father-daughter and brother-sister. “That is why girls studying in co-educational institution think twice before sharing eve-teasing cases with their male peers,” he said.

“Most of the male students of co-educational institutions feel insulted if their female classmates refuse to befriend them. Thereafter, they indulge in eve-teasing to take revenge. It proves that they are mentally sick,” he added.