The protest by the students of The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad, against sexual assault faced by a female student of the institute on October 18, seems to continue.
On the night of October 26, Thursday, a group of students gathered on campus for a sit-in protest demanding the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Suresh Kumar, as well as the proctorial committee, for inaction and mismanagement in the sexual harassment case.
“I think the movement is going to continue in an episodic manner, this is not a standalone protest. This is a serious matter and the administration needs to address the students’ demands. Due to ongoing Dussehra holidays, the protests have been dispersed,” a student of EFLU told EdexLive, on the condition of anonymity.
The students also reported that the Dussehra holidays were extended by the university alleging that it is an attempt to disperse the student council meetings.
Moreover, it was informed that one of the Deputy Proctors addressed the students on October 26 night, asking them to give a list of demands along with the students’ names and other details.
“This is a very familiar form of intimidation by the administration where they target the students who are at the forefront of protests. The students did not agree to give these details and decided to reconvene at a later point. The alumni community of EFLU is also very agitated with the recent incidents that have taken place, displaying the institute’s apathy towards the students,” said a former president of EFLU’s student council.
On October 16, students at EFLU initiated a peaceful protest demanding the reconstitution of the sexual harassment committee SPARSH (Sensitisation, Prevention, and Redressal of Sexual Harassment), and reservation for an LGBTQ candidate in the cell.
However, a student who participated in the protest was sexually harassed on October 18 inside the campus, escalating the agitation by students.
