The Governor of Maharashtra K. Sankaranarayanan today asked educational institutions in the State to ensure that the Women’s Grievance Cell is active and functioning in educational institutions. He also asked educational institutions to give confidence to girl students to report incidents like eve-teasing, taunting, use of inappropriate language, indecent gestures, inappropriate contacts etc. to the cell.
The Governor was speaking at a sensitization workshop on ‘Measures to Tackle the Menace of Sexual Crimes against Women’ at SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai on Saturday (31 Aug). The workshop was organized by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) at the instance of Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The Governor said that on the opening day of the college, all the girl students should be assured of their safety and security and informed them of the mechanism to redress their grievances relating to sexual harassment and violence.
The Governor asserted that the girls have the right to safe growing and learning. He said that apart from the Government, – parents, society and educational institutions have the responsibility to ensure that girls are safe and supported in their colleges, homes and in society.
The Governor observed that the attitude of Indian society towards women suffers from deep rooted prejudices and bias. Mentioning that the first survival test a girl has to face is when she is still in her mother’s womb, he observed that the biggest challenge is to change the mindset of society, – of parents, of brothers and also of women towards a girl.
Minister for Women and Child Development Varsha Gaikwad, Minister of State for Higher and Technical Education D. P. Sawant, Chairman of AICTE S. S. Mantha, Vice Chancellor of SNDT Women’s University Vasudha Kamat and representatives of technical education institutions in the State were present on the occasion.