If Girls In Engineering Colleges Can Have Ridiculous Rules, So Can The Boys!

We believe in equality of the sexes. Here are 35 proposed rules for boys in engineering colleges.

Off late, we are hearing of several ‘rules’ that colleges in India impose or want to introduce for girls in engineering colleges.

Ranging from a ban on skin-coloured leggings to a directive on pinning the dupatta ‘decently’ on both shoulders, from a strict no ‘loose’ hair policy to a prohibition of girls talking to boys- we hear of new tenets everyday. These so-called rules which are increasingly bizarre and progressively [sorry, absolutely no pun intended] ridiculous are supposedly meant for disciplining college girls from going astray.

Sure, we all need rules to instill discipline and from going wayward. But someone please tell me where is the rule book for boys? Where are the guidelines for disciplining college boys? Surely they need a few pointers to match the girls who seem to have all the directives laid down so that they go through college and evolve into the most ‘decent’ women that society expects them to be. To be fair, the boys and the men need an equal list of instructions so that they can match the decency of the women they study with, will work with and live with, in future.

1. No smoking cigarettes/beedis in campus or otherwise
2. No ‘gutkha’ or ‘paan masala’ in campus or otherwise
3. No alcohol or recreational drugs in campus or otherwise.
4. No leaving top buttons of the shirt open. Chest hair must not be exposed.
5. No sporting the latest ‘Shahrukh Khan’ or ‘Ranbir kapoor’ hairstyles.
6. No sitting on walls or staircases
7. No looking at girls beyond 3 cms above the ground.
8. No singing film songs even in one’s mind
9. No whistling
10. No chewing gum.
11. No winking.
12. No carrying books or literature of any offensive nature, including film magazines.
13. No turning one’s head when a girl walks past and eyes must be lowered at all costs.
14. No taking photos in college campus.
15. No thick metallic chains around neck. No chain or bracelet of any kind around wrist (unless for religious reasons)
16. No sleeveless T-shirt or shirt allowed.
17. Banian (vest) must be worn at all times under shirt. No fancy netted banians.
18. No tight jeans. Jeans must have big back pockets on both sides to protect modesty. Jeans should NOT have fancy metallic design of any kind. No ripped fashion allowed.
19. No loitering in college campus beyond college hours. No loitering in college canteen after meal is over.
20. No stubble allowed. Face must be clean shaven or with neatly maintained moustache/beard [unless for religious reasons]
21. No wearing T-shirts with print or text in any language, especially meaningless quotes.
22. No long nails or nail polish allowed.
23. No fancy sunglasses allowed. Prescription glasses should be with black rims and without any design.
24. No fancy caps/hats allowed. Helmet compulsory while riding bike. Helmet must be plain and not worn to show off.
25. No more than 2 persons permitted on a two-wheeler.
26. No obscene sounds, catcalls, hoots or meaningless sounds within campus or anywhere near it.
27. No low-rise trousers. Shorts not allowed except at sports events where they must be ‘decent’, not tight, minimum length up to knees and zipped properly.
28. No hairstyle with hair more than 2 cm long, [unless for religious reasons]. Hair should not under any circumstances cover nape of neck. No sideburns, fringes, puffs, quiffs or any fancy style. Hair must be oiled. NO hair colouring. No punk, no Mohawk fancy styles. No ponytails or hairbands allowed.
29. No wearing fancy international sports logos especially irrelevant football club logos when one does not know how to play football.
30. No listening to cricket commentary in class or campus. No texting in class.
31. No tattoos (not even temporary). No skin piercing.
32. No scribbling on desks, no graffiti on classroom walls or college compound will be tolerated.
33. No spitting anywhere in college or otherwise.
34. No weapons allowed. [includes potential weapons e.g. acid and other chemicals]
35. No urinating except in designated areas.

Yes, some of these make sense and some are rather obnoxious. But if a ban on girls wearing short kurtas makes perfect sense to some and if a few authorities can actually think of an embargo on high heels, because it offends their sensibilities on how a modern Indian woman should be dressed, then the ‘rules’ above are not as strange as they may seem.

In fact many of these should be strictly applied if we want our boys to be as progressive and as evolved as their female counterparts.

Believe it or not, a lot of these rules are actually applied to some institutes, which produce some of the most disciplined people that we in India respect and look up to.

Our armed forces training academies, which make men of boys, have so many of these rules [either written or unwritten ones] in place and the result of these rules is for all to see- our defence personnel whom we are so proud of.

It may not be such a bad idea if some of these rules are introduced for college boys in India.

Okay, we may not want all our boys to be as disciplined and praiseworthy as our men in uniform. But surely our soldiers are exemplary, role models worth emulating for millions of college boys who will enter other hallowed fields in our country.

It is not just the girls who need discipline. Boys require it too.

Or is that asking for too much?

This article is in response to Women’s Web recent article,  You Won’t Believe The Rules That Chennai Engineering Colleges Impose On Students

Image via Shutterstock.

Vrushali J

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