In a harrowing incident, a 19-year-old student from Assam was forced to wrap a curtain around her legs after she came to an entrance test wearing shorts. Outrage over the incident has spurred an inquiry by the Assam Agricultural University.

The girl’s family has, however, not lodged a complaint. 

The student had travelled to Tezpur from her hometown in Biswanath Chariali to take the entrance exam for the Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GIPS).

While explaining, the girl said,  “The security guard allowed me to enter the premises, however, I was stopped by the invigilator at the examination hall. The invigilator told me that I would not be allowed to enter the examination centre wearing shorts.”

The girl further said that the admit card did not mention a dress code and that she had worn the same attire at her NEET examination. 

The girl’s father was waiting outside the examination hall. “I had gone crying to him. The controller of examination finally said that I could be allowed to sit for examination if a pair of trousers could be arranged.” 

While the girl’s father was desperately trying to find a pair of extra trousers, the girl was given a curtain to cover her legs and write the paper. 

“My daughter was traumatised and spoke to a few local journalists about the humiliating incident and the issue became viral on social media. There are many who have condemned the incident but many have attacked my daughter for not following a dress code in an educational institution, which has left her more mentally disturbed,” said the father of the student.

The father further added that while friends and relatives had urged them to proceed further but they have decided to let the matter rest here in the interest of his daughter’s mental well-being. “We want her to concentrate on her academic future,” he said.

Social media outbursts have forced the Assam Agricultural University to and set up an inquiry led by the dean.

Congress spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said not allowing a young girl to sit for an examination for wearing shorts reflected a dangerous and regressive mindset.

“This is making a mountain out of a molehill and amounts to mental harassment of the student just before her exams. I feel sorry that society has become so regressive about what a girl wears. Such a mindset is dangerous for the safety and security of girls,” said Ms Sarma.

Gender rights activist Anurita Hazarika said: “Would a boy be dealt with in the same manner if he had entered the examination hall wearing shorts or was the girl singled out for her gender?” She also pointed out that the incident amounted to sexual harassment if a male invigilator forcibly wrapped the cloth around her legs.

“People should give up this ‘Taliban-like attitude’,” said Jayanta Sarma, a professor of mass communication at KK Handique State Open University.

The girl said,” They did not check for Covid protocols, masks and others but for shorts. 

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