The Kerala High Court on Wednesday questioned why only girls and women need to be “controlled” or “locked up” at night and asked the state government to ensure that they get the same freedom as boys and men.
Justice Devan Ramachandran said there was no need to fear the night and the government should ensure that it was safe for everyone to move out after dark.
The remarks were made during the hearing of a plea by five girl students of the Kozhikode Medical College challenging a 2019 government order that prohibited movement of hostel inmates of higher education institutions after 9.30 pm.
The court, while hearing the case, questioned why only women or girls needed to be controlled and not boys or men, and why a curfew of 9.30 pm had been fixed for women in medical college hostels.
“Girls also have to live in this society. Will heads drop after 9.30 pm? Will the mountains break? It is the responsibility of the government to keep the premises safe,” the court said and asked whether there was any hostel in the state where there was curfew for boys.
The court also said that it is the problematic men who should be locked up.
Justice Ramachandran also said that some people were saying that he was questioning the restrictions as he had no daughter.
The judge said that she has relatives who are girls and stay in hostels in Delhi where they study and such restrictions do not exist there.
The government said the restrictions were imposed keeping in mind the concerns of the parents of the girls.
The court said it is taking into consideration the concerns of the women and parents of the girls, but at the same time there are other hostels in the state where curfew is not in place.
The court asked, “Aren’t the parents of the children living there?”
It also said that it will not blame the government if parents want to lock up girls or women at night.
“Let us not be afraid of the night. The court said that the freedom given to boys should also be given to girls.
On the last date of hearing of the matter, the Court had said that the state and public authorities should make efforts to enable girls and women to take care of themselves instead of locking them up.
It also stated that patriarchy should be ignored even in the form of providing protection to women and girls as they are capable of taking care of themselves like men and boys.
The women-petitioners have argued that the 2019 government order was being implemented only in their hostel and not in the men’s hostel.
They have also sought a direction from the court to the medical college to allow them access to the reading room or study room or library attached to the campus and fitness center without any time restriction “in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience”. ,
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