In absolutely bizarre and controversial move, the Telangana government has asserted that only “unmarried” women were allowed to apply in Telangana’s residential college and that married were not applicable to receive education from state’s welfare residential women’s degree colleges.
According to a report in Times of India, the rule is not really new but has been around for the last one year where at least 4000 women have been enrolled and are preparing to move to the second year. Students who have been studying in 23 such residential colleges are entitled to receive free education, free food and other necessary things that are required.
The Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) have released a circular where they are inviting applications and have clearly mentioned that unmarried women are applicable to apply.
“The TSWREIS invites applications from women (unmarried) candidates for admission into BA/B.Com/B.Sc 1st year degree courses for the academic year 2017-18,” the circular read as. The report further stated that the officials affirmed that the invite were not a mess up but was done deliberately. The officials affirmed that they were not allowing the married woman to apply for the college because they cause “distraction”.
“The intention to ensure that other girls in the residential degree colleges do not get distracted because there is every possibility of husbands visiting their wives weekly once or in a fortnight. We do not want any kind of distraction among students,” TOI quoted TSWREIS content manager B Venkat Raju as saying.
Adding that they condemn child marriages, the officials affirmed that even though they did not wish to urge married women to apply for the same, if any married woman approaches them for admission purpose they shall consider. Some of the social workers have termed the order as “regressive” and have urged the institution to pull out the notification with immediate effect.
