Girls fined for wearing jeans, t-shirts to college

At least four girl students of one of the biggest girls’ college in Haryana’s Bhiwani district were fined on Friday for coming to the college in jeans and T-shirts.

Each girl has been asked to pay a fine Rs 100 for violating the college discipline. The issue has evoked strong reactions from students. Wearing skirts in college is a complete no.

The college has passed a diktat of sorts whereby girls have been barred from wearing jeans and T-shirts in the college campus. Principal Alka Sharma argues that the girls violated the dress code of the college, which is why, they were fined as per the rules. “Short T-shirts with jeans is not allowed in the college,” she maintained.

Wearing jeans in not completely forbidden but it comes with a rider. They have to be worn only with long kurtas but certainly not with T-shirts or shirts, said sources. The “dress code” applies to the female teachers as well. 

Another retrograde order that the college has ordered is that girls need to wear an all-white salwar-kameez to college on Mondays.

The rationale behind the move is still unclear, but perhaps, stems out of an arguably stereotypical psyche of the top management to enforce such rules under the garb of inculcating discipline, sources said. Girls have raised voices against such diktats in past, but to no avail. Many of the girls have chosen to let things be as they want to avoid a perceived controversy. 

Dr Jaswant Rai, former professor of Kurukshetra University — while speaking to
Deccan Herald on Saturday — termed such moves as retrograde. He said there has been no study or research to indicate that such measures pushed in the name of discipline on college girls have a positive impact on their mindset in any way.