Women students move Kerala High Court over evening hostel curfew

Women students of a college in Kerala’s Kothamangalam have moved the Kerala High Court over the gender-discriminatory 6.30 pm hostel curfew.

According to sources, women students of Mar Athanasius College in Kothamangalam have approached the Kerala High Court against the discriminatory curfew time in the women's hostel. In their petition, the students said the timing imposed on them was 6.30 pm.

The students said in 2019, the state government had issued an order stating that the entry time in ladies' hostels for all colleges under the universities in Kerala should be 6.30 pm, but the government had also issued another order saying that the library, laboratories, workshops, research centers, and sports facilities should be open for students till 9.30 pm without any restrictions

They argued that the order stood violated by the college. The benefits of the order were also denied to male students, since the college had fixed the curfew time for the men's hostel as 9:00 pm.