Dress code: Rights group files plea with SHRC, seeks action against college

HYDERABAD: Following protests at St Francis College for Women against an order to impose a dress-code of knee-length kurtis, child rights group Balala Hakula Sangam (BHS) has filed a petition with the Telangana State Human Rights Commission seeking action against the college management for violating students’ rights.
“The principal’s act of measuring the length of students’ kurtis subjected them to mental trauma and is a clear violation of the right to education. We condemn this act and have sought the SHRC’s intervention,” said BHS president, Anuradha Rao.
The college had imposed the diktat of wearing knee-length kurtis to classes from August 1. The odrer had led to an outrage among students, who claimed that the move was not just unwarranted but also extremely regressive. This was the second time that the students held a protest in front of the colleges premises. On August 2 as well, few students had staged a protest on campus but had failed to convince the management to roll back its order.