Chennai College's 'Special Instructions for Girls': No Accounts On Social Media, No Talking To Boys

NEW DELHI: Sri Sairam Engineering College in Chennai seems to have issued a circular titled “Special Instructions For Girls” that outlines a series of restrictive measures on dress, movement, and behaviour. “Should not have account on Facebook, Whatsapp, and other related types of this kind,” says instruction number 20. “Should not talk to boys,” mandates instruction number 22.

Other instructions include: 21: “Should follow allotted staircase and footpaths,” 19: “Should not use two wheeler and four wheeler,” 18: “Should not bring mobiles, Pen drives, sim cards etc,” 15: “Should not bring sweets, cakes, chocolates and other snacks in bulk quantity to share with friends,” 13: “Two sides of dupatta should be compulsorily pinned up,” 9: “No transparent & short dupatta,” and 8: “No hair colouring.”

The list of instructions first appeared on Reddit, posted by user MentalBwoy. The Citizen called the Sri Sairam Engineering College multiple times, receiving no clear answer on whether the circular was issued and the college’s position on it. On first instance, The Citizen was asked to call back in an hour. The second try was passed on to a different number. On the third try, The Citizen stated that parents of a prospective student were interested in the circular, to which the college responded: “Please ask the parent to call us directly and we will give them the full details.”

A copy of the circular is reproduced below:

Although the circular sparked outrage on Reddit, many were not surprised. Restrictions on girls seem to be the norm rather than the exception in engineering colleges in Chennai, many users said.

A sample of the comments are included below: