Initiated by female students in Delhi's colleges and universities, the "Pinjra Tod: Break the Hostel Locks" campaign is against moral policing and discriminatory practices and regulations meant for women in educational institutions across the country. Priya Abraham of The Telegraph looks at the campaign vis-à-vis the state of inmates in hostels across Odisha

The cancellation of late-nights for inmates of women's hostels by the administration of Jamia Milia Islamia University led the Delhi Commission of Women to issue a notice to it for practising gender discrimination.

Since similar rules, practices and regulations have been an integral feature of colleges and universities across the country, a group of female students got together and started the campaign.

The group believes that there is a much larger issue around the problems young women living in hostels face. The campaign protests against rules and regulations that seek to control and limit the access, mobility, sexuality and experiences of women who come to study, work and live in cities.

The petition

In order to channelise the voices supporting this demand, the campaign urges students supporting the cause to sign an online petition to National Women Commission highlighting the instances of moral-policing of women students. The lack of adequate women's hostels and steep fee hikes in the existing ones make women even more vulnerable to such discriminatory practices, the petition argues.

Hostel rules

Women's hostels of all universities hostels across the state impose similar rules on the residents.

While male students cannot remain absent from their hostels between 9.30pm and 6am without prior permission of the warden or superintendent, the corresponding timing for women is 6.30pm to 7am. In the case of emergency, they should take a written permission from the warden. For women, visitors are not permitted at the hostel after 8pm. However, in special cases, prior permission of warden must be obtained to stay beyond these hours. For men, there is no specified time for visitors.

Hostel students in Bhubaneswar - both boys and girls - cannot leave the city without prior permission of the warden. They shall have to apply for permission in writing in advance stating the reason for leaving and the address of destination. Students who leave hostel without the application and prior permission from the authorities shall be deemed to be missing and their parent/guardian or even the police could be intimated.

Male visitors (including parents/guardians) are not permitted to enter women's hostels. Women visitors are only permitted before 6.30pm. The rules state that all girls must be present in their rooms by 6.30pm. They need to take prior permission from the warden for leaving campus after this time and will be allowed in case of exigencies. The women residents must record the time when they leave the hostel and return in a register. Cases of students leaving the hostel without prior permission will be viewed seriously and will invite expulsion from the rooms and/or the institute, the rules say.