Malabar Christian College students protest gender bias

KOZHIKODE: Students of Malabar Christian College (MCC) took out a symbolic protest on Monday against the gender segregation on the Farook College campus, one of Malabar's famous educational institutions with a history of 67 years. Boys and girls fed each other on the campus.

With the support of MCC principal Pavamani Mary Gladys, students spared half an hour of their lunch time for it. Speaking to students, Ms Gladys said MCC had always encouraged a healthy interaction between boys and girls on the campus rather than segregating them in the name of gender.

“MCC started with four girl students and rest boys, hence from them to now the institution wants their students to be together without discrimination and a restriction wall”, she said.
Raising voice against the segregation at a modern educational institution, Sreejith PS, Malayalam student of MCC said, “What will happen if a boy and girl sit together or talk for some time on their college campus”.

“I wonder we live in this century where people talk so much about sex education and see both genders equally, but still some college like Farook creates discrimination wall among girls and boys. It is high time they understood that sex segregation is in no way going to bring discipline to an institution.”

According to MCC, the move of Farook College is considered as a precaution against the mingling of both the sexes which resulted in building concrete benches that say ‘Rest Zone for Boys’.

“Never can I think of a situation where you have boys around you, and we are made not to talk to them or interact in any way,” said Namitha Jagadeesh, BCom student of MCC.

“We sit in our college among boys, at the same time our friends in Farook college are suspended for mingling with other gender students, which is nonsense and not justifiable.”