Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) authorities to allow entry of girl students inside the Maulana Azad central library. A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.K.S. Baghel passed the order while disposing of a PIL filed by law intern and civil rights activist Deeksha Dwidedi.
Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani had also termed the Vice-Chancellor’s remark as an insult to women.
The row began when Gen Shah turned down a demand from students of Women’s College for access to the university’s Maulana Azad Library, saying that there would be “four times more boys” in the library if girls were allowed in.
Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla said that such statements coming from the head of an institution are “shocking”. Congress leader Rashid Alvi too condemned the statement, adding that it was “disrespectful” towards women.
The Women’s College Students Union president Gulfiza Khan said that instead of imposing restrictions on girls, the college authorities should introduce safety measures. She urged the university administration to facilitate extra ambulance services with round-the-clock medical services, extension of library and high speed Wi-Fi on the college campus.
However, after the issue triggered a national debate, the Women’s College Students’ Union and the AMU Students’ Union held a joint protest march on campus slamming the media for its “biased” reporting on the issue and asked the HRD Ministry to stay away from the issue.
Bureau Report
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