New UGC Guidelines For Women Safety
Due to the fact that more and more females are going out each day compared to earlier years, crime against women and girls is on the rise today. For girls enrolled in higher education institutions, UGC has made a critical judgment. New regulations have been released by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Educational institutions have requested the UGC to establish a secure and violence-free environment for all students, particularly females, and female staff. It has been stated in this UGC policy that women’s safety should come first. Women’s engagement in educational institutions will increase if they feel comfortable on campus. The UGC has till November 14 to receive ideas on this directive from academic institutions.
According to the UGC 2022 criteria, HEIs must make sure that women have access to amenities including clean, well-maintained restrooms. For the safety of students, schools and the surrounding communities should include a boundary wall, adequate female security guards from reputable security companies, and reliable and consistent transportation options for female personnel and students. Universities have been instructed to promote the zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and gender discrimination on campuses in addition to this.
“The institutional framework is the only way to implement short-term as well as long-term solutions. Universities have tried to do their best, but the mindsets must change. The way
people are conditioned to think that they can violate another person’s personal space must change,” says Abha Dev Habib, associate professor, at Miranda House, New Delhi.
I concur with Mrs. Habib that colleges have and will continue to take steps to protect women and advance society, but I believe that people’s attitudes regarding the law need to change.
They shouldn’t feel free to disregard these guidelines or invade someone else’s private space. The employees should adhere more strictly to these ideas in order to create an environment
that is better for women.
“What happened at Miranda House is the statement of the times we live in,” adds the professor, “It is important no irrational hostel timings are imposed on women and they should be allowed to be outside for academic work. The more women will be out the safer the entire system will become. Not treating women as adults is also a part of the problem,” says Habib.
She is absolutely correct in saying that women have been treated like toddlers for a very long time. The limited number of women who must leave the house for scholastic purposes is hampered by the imposition of set hours and the creation of a dark environment for men alone. This needs to alter. There needs to be a shift in the notion that women are mostly to blame for the issue. That is the only way our society can make life safer for women.
