Having advocated the importance of gender equality in the country, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, through her latest remark has ignited fresh controversies.

Maneka Gandhi said that if students are interested to go and study in the library, two nights should be given to boys and two nights for girls. (Reuters)

Having advocated the importance of gender equality in the country, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, through her latest remark has ignited fresh controversies. In a major shock to most of her college going admirers, the Minister for Women & Child Development today stated that an early curfew for college girls living in hostels should be a necessary step taken for their own safety. Speaking at NDTV, Maneka Gandhi cited that usually people are hormonally challenged at the age of 16 or 17 and further said that to protect one from a hormonal outburst certain limitations must be there, only for the safety of the students.

At an interview on the International Women’s Day, to the NDTV, Maneka Gandhi further claimed that the issues related to women safety in colleges can’t be solved with just two guards with ‘dandas’ (sticks). She said that the matter should be addressed with specific limitations. Gandhi said that if students are interested to go and study in the library, two nights should be given to boys and two nights for girls.

However, the minister said that certain limitations should also be implied on boys too. She said that even boys should not be allowed to wander around the campus after 6 pm. Speaking at the 60th session of the Commission on the status of women, Maneka Gandhi asserted that the central government is committed to ensure equal rights for women and to eliminate discrimination within genders. Further addressing the commission, Gandhi said that the government had taken steps towards spreading awareness to fight social prejudices and stereotypes.

Last year in March, speaking at the 60th session of the Commission on the status of women, Ms Gandhi, who is the minister of women and child welfare, had said the Government of India “remains fully committed to advancing the goal of gender equality and empowerment of women, and to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women”.

It was also at her initiative that the government had redrawn the national policy on women. Steps have been taken towards “awareness generation and starting sensitisation programmes to fight social prejudices and stereotypes,” she had said at the time.

Moral policing by the state had become a matter of debate after two policemen in Kerala were caught harassing a couple at a public park in Thiruvananthapuram last month. As the young man involved had live-streamed the event on Facebook, the state police faced a barrage of criticism from the social media.http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-hostels-need-early-curfew-hormonal-outbursts-says-maneka-gandhi-1666742