A well-known engineering college in Chennai was in trouble last week, after it was said to have released a set of regressive rules and regulations for its female students.
An image of the “special instructions for girls” was circulated online, and the college, Sri Sai Ram Engineering College, has denied that such a circular was issued since.
Now, another co-educational school from Pallikoodam in Kerala’s Kottayam district, has set a bizarre rule for its students.
"The distance between a boy and a girl at all times to be one meter," the rule reads, while mentioning that the rule may be relaxed in certain situations like theatre, choir etc
What is surprising is that the school, established in 1967, is well known for trying innovative teaching methods and even avoids examinations until the 8th grade.
The school was founded by Mary Roy—mother of the Man Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy, and the students often come from influential families in Kerala.
Mary is a well-known women's rights activists and fought for equal property rights when her father passed away.
"This (rule) is probably a reaction of sorts to some complaints or concerns raised by the public. Kerala’s society is yet to come to terms with an unconventional school like Pallikoodam," George Mathen, an alumnus of Pallikoodam and a graphic novelist, told Quartz.
The school has not yet responded to the rule.
However, in an old interview, speaking about her vision for the school, Mary said:
"My girl students will not take their families to court. They won't have to. Nor will they need their dowries. Because they have been made to realise that education will set them free....They (boys) will not be the alcoholic, wife-beating, dowry-expecting men that we hear of. But they have to gear up and find their footing fast. The girls are already beating them hollow in every championship race right here in my school."