March for women's safety taken out
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 22 2019: Activists of North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) along with Manipur University Students' Union (MUSU) and students of the university organized a 'March for women's safety' in the campus today.

The march was organized following the non-functioning of Internal Complaints Committee at MU and the grave concerns of women students concerning their safety in and around the campus.

Owing to the lack of the functioning of Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee/Internal Complaints Committee, the women students find the campus highly insecure for themselves, said NEFIS Manipur unit.

There is an ICC in the campus but the functioning is confined to paper, thereby making it out-of-reach for complainants, it said and added that this violates the basic principles for which ICC were made mandatory for educational institutions by the UGC.

According to the UGC, ICCs should have proper representation of women students in it and were envisaged as being easily accessible by the prospective complainants.

But, in MU, the said objectives have been marred by the non-functional 'paper-confined' ICC, alleged NEFIS Manipur unit.

There is also a lack of security in and around the campus which gives leeway to lumpen and anti-social elements to eve-tease and stalk women students of the university, it alleged and added that the said incidents have led to an ingraining of fear and insecurity among women students.

It remarked that the matter has been apprised to the university authorities but no action has been taken up till now.

In connection with the alarming concerns as well as other issues, the common students, NEFIS and MUSU representatives met MU administrator and demanded that proper functioning of ICC, which has already been constituted, with insurance of representation of women students in it.

The student community also demanded the authorities concerned to take up immediate steps to ensure women's safety in and around the campus and extend the closing time of MU library and the curfew time of women's hostels.

MU administrator, agreeing to the demands, has assured that ICC would be made functional with women students' representation within 15 days.

He further assured to extend the library closing time to 9 pm and also extend the curfew time of women's hostels as well, it added.

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