600 students from NIFT, Kerala protest against physical, sexual abuse

All the students of NIFT protested on the college premises on March 15 fed up of the constant abuse by locals in KannurStruggling for two years against a shocking spate of abuse against both the male and female students of National Institute of Fashion Technology NIFT more than 600 of them from the first year to the final year including several from Mumbai were forced to come out in protest last week That day March 15 46 students handed in complaints to the college director detailing the horror they had to endure every single day mdash catcalling molestation sexual harassment stalking and cyber bullyingFortunately the protest has got the attention of the college management senior police officers local municipal officials and the Kannur collector who have assured the students that appropriate steps will be taken to prevent such incidents outside the campus The security inside the institute will be NIFTs responsibility they saidWrong perceptionsStrangely the college is perceived as a den of depravity by the locals who live around it A male student who hails from Punjab and who was himself a victim of sexual abuse by a local said People in Kannur district somehow have the wrong perception of students of this college They treat us with appalling disrespect in public places They think nothing of teasing molesting grabbing hitting and bullying us online This has only been getting worse with time We had no option but to protest to draw public attention towards our plightThe student described his own horror story I had gone out around 730 pm to buy dinner from a hotel two kilometres from the campus The man at the reception who was in his early forties asked if I was from NIFT He then asked me to take a room at the hotel I was puzzled and refused saying I had an apartment He then accompanied me to the food counter and as we were coming down in the elevator he squeezed my groin I was speechless from shock he saidFear of being beaten upAsked why he did not react or register a police complaint he said he feared he would be beaten up by the locals if he protested and did not file a complaint as he did not know the local languageInterestingly hundreds of students from all over India especially Mumbai North East JampK Punjab etc have enrolled for the fouryear undergraduate and twoyear post graduate courses at the college which was set up in 2008 It is one of the 17 NIFTs run by the textile ministryAnother student who is from Mumbai said I have been studying here for the past three years and can vouch for the unbelievable happenings The campus is located 10 kilometres from the main city and most of roads connecting to the campus are deserted and unlit Our parents know that if they have sent us so far to pursue an education in fashion technology they trust us to not do anything wrongShe said There is acute moral policing within and outside the campus We are subjected to lengthy questioning if we are spotted in clothes that are short or that the faculty feels is inappropriate And we are afraid to step out in clothes we like because there have been numerous instances of local men making sexual advances and even masturbating in front of the girlsEnough is enoughA recent incident was the trigger that galvanised the students into action A female student who was undergoing treatment for asthma was walking on the road outside the campus when two men on a motorcycle hit her hard on her chest The student fell on the ground and had a severe asthma attack Fortunately as the incident happened close to the campus gate help reached her quicklyOn March 15 all the students of the college took out a rally pressing their demand for the safety of students The students claim that the director and hostel warden have been ignoring their pleas and instead of taking stern action against the offenders would instead tell the students to refrain from wearing certain clothes They were also stopped from going out of the hostel after 8 pm