Students of Shri Sahajanand Girls’ Institute (SSGI) in Gujarat’s Bhuj were allegedly forced to remove their underwear in order to check if they were menstruating. As many as 68 girls were forced to strip after the hostel rector complained to the principal that menstruating students were violating “religious norms”.

The girls were paraded from the college to the hostel restroom following which the warden accused them of venturing into the temple on the college premises and touching fellow students. In the washroom, every girl was asked to prove she was not menstruating, according to the report.

Affiliated to the Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kachchh University, the college is managed by the Swaminarayan Dwisatabdi Medical & Charitable Trust and was founded in 2012. The norms of the college state that girls, when menstruating, cannot enter a temple or kitchen. They are also barred from touching other students during that time.

One of the students said, “The hostel administration levelled this allegation and insulted us on Wednesday. On Thursday, when we were attending lectures, rector Anjaliben called the principal and complained about this. We were forced to leave our classrooms and queue up outside in the passage. The principal abused and insulted us, asking which of us were having our periods. Two of us who were menstruating stepped aside.”

She further added that they all were taken to the washroom where female teachers asked them to remove their undergarments “so they could check if we were menstruating”.

The students also claimed that this was not the first time they have been harassed by the college authorities. The students were also allegedly made to sign a letter claiming that “nothing had happened in college”.

Trustee P.H. Hirani told the Ahmedabad Mirror, “We run a charitable organisation and take token fee. As the institute has a temple on campus, the girls have been instructed to follow the sect’s rules. However, what happened to the students is unfair. Action will be taken.”

Source: The Print