FlippED is an ED Original style wherein two bloggers come together to share their opposing or orthogonal perspectives on an interesting subject.


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Living in a hostel (or a PG too) has its own set of irksome problems. Terrible food, nosy wardens, quarrelsome roommates etc. all aside, and curfew on another plane. But are these curfews good-for-nothing?

Read the two opposing perspectives that our bloggers present and choose your side.

CURFEWS ENSURE SAFETY

If there weren’t any curfews on the hostels’ part, who then would be held accountable in case of a mishappening with a student from an outstation area?

– Blogger Rashmi’s perspective

Last year, my college erupted into huge protests, with hostellers demanding the removal of curfew. The reasons that were cited ranged from the most legible to the most ridiculous ones.

But the underlying concern that was muffled beneath the naarebaazi was – are the students even demanding a sensible thing?

The idea of curfews may sound like that of a conservative household restricting the going out of girls past sunset and hostel curfews may seem similarly regressive and sexist.

Before drawing this parallel, one needs to keep in mind certain things. Students who live in hostels come from distant cities or even countries.

Parents send their children to the respective cities to study, content in the fact that their ward’s safety and security lies in the hands of the hostel authorities.

If these very institutions cease having a curfew in place, who then would the parents entrust their child’s safety with?

Are Our Cities As Safe As We Think?

No matter how much we may boast of progressive thinking and liberal attitudes, it is a sad truth that metropolitan cities are a hub of crimes.

Curfews do not discriminate between students on the basis of their gender. Be it, boys or girls, everyone needs to be on the campus by a designated time. For, it is not just one gender that the institution intends to safeguard. 


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THEY ARE SEXIST

When we can be fit to vote and get married at the age of 18, why can’t we go out and have some fun at night? It is way safer than getting married before getting settled

– Blogger Anjali’s perspective

Call me a rebel if you want but I do not find myself convinced with the idea of curfew in hostels. If it is limited to students below the age of majority, then I may have supported it because they may not have the mental maturity to understand what is good and what is bad for them. However, as soon as the same idea extends to the adult folks, I cannot identify myself with this concept. 

Another important fact remains that curfew is mostly exercised with utter discipline in girl’s hostels as if women are werewolves who shouldn’t be allowed to roam around the streets at night.

Those who have lived or have been living in a girl’s hostel may relate to how the strict implementation of rules is mostly limited to hostels of girls, making it somewhat a sexist idea. 

Adult College Students Can Vote But Not Leave Hostels After 10

The law of the land, not only in India but in the majority of countries prescribes for the universal adult franchise, which gives the right to vote to a person at the age of majority. This age is 18 years in India. 

The idea behind specifying this age is that a person attains the mental maturity to be able to make sensible choices at this age. Going further, the Indian law provides that a female is fit for marriage at the age of 18 years.

Safety Issues 

I understand the concern for the safety of the college students but then, why don’t they stop the male students from going out of hostel? Men are cited as the reason for not letting girls go out at so-called odd hours, so why ignore the symptoms of the disease rather than eradicating them from the root?

Also, those who have lived in girl’s hostels know that catfights are nothing new for hostellers and they can get very fatal. And what is that indemnity bond for which our parents are made to sign? 

You have waived off your responsibility already so why stop us from exploring the world?

I believe that when parents send their children to hostels, they assume that a sense of responsibility and independence would be inculcated in them which cannot happen if they are not given the necessary freedom to go out, interact with the outside world and learn how life works.


Image Sources: Google Images

Sources: Bloggers’ views

Connect With Bloggers: @Rhetorician_rc and @innocentlysane


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