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Kerala College Won't Let Girls And Boys Sit Together, Suspends Student For Protesting

A Boy Who Wanted To Sit Next To A Girl In Kerala College Has Been Suspended Indefinitely

Last week, a professor at the reputed Farook college in Kozhikode, Kerala asked 9 students--four girls and five boys-- to leave the classroom as they were sitting together. The students had to report back with their guardians and write an apology note.

However, one of the students, Dinu V, decided to speak up against the regressive stand and did not submit an apology note. In turn, the college decided to punish him by suspending him indefinitely.

“The Malayalam teacher said that he will not allow boys and girls to sit together as it went against the college's rules. When a female student pointed out that it is sheer gender segregation, he chided her and said that all those who cannot obey this rule should go out of the classroom. As many as nine students had to leave the class following the incident,“ Dinu had told the Times Of India.

But, this was not the first time the college authorities had shown discriminatory and sexist behaviour.

Dinu, a first year Post Graduate student at the college told The News Minute, "In the benches placed in college corridors, only boys are allowed to sit. In the canteen, there are separate sections for boys and girls."

There's a 'staff ' section tucked in between the two gender segregated areas to keep a watch on them.

Dinu has been posting some of his college pictures on Facebook to show the gender segregation that is practiced in the institution.

Apparently, the college does not even allow girls and boys to do a stage performance together as that would require rehearsals together.

On Monday, a protest march was taken out against the incident by CPM’s student wing SFI. However, the march ended in a clash after Muslim organisations supporting the management tried to prevent the SFI protest, reports Indian Express.

The principal, E P Embichikoya, said that the rules had been in place for a long time to 'uphold the Indian culture.'

"Boys and girls sitting together on the same bench has never been a norm in the 67-year-old history of the college. There is no gender segregation here. A majority of the parents support what we follow now," he told ToI.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.