Students' campaign finds rampant sexism at IIT-Bombay

A SERIES of gender sensitisation campaigns by a students’ organisation has thrown light on sexism prevalent on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. The series, which began in August last year, culminated in a discussion last week about sexism in everyday lives on the campus. The discussion was based on the responses received in the IITBWomenSpeak campaign.

In March, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) had sought anonymous comments from students on discrimination and sexism on campus, along the lines of the #MeToo campaign. Through the comments many students came out with their experiences of sexism, body-shaming and discrimination.

Students came forward to talk about their experiences where body-shaming, cat-calling and sexist comments were passed off as joke. A student member associated with the campaign said, “Before we started these activities, there was hardly any discussion on campus on sexism and many lived in denial. The biggest achievement of the movement has been to get people to talk about sexism. This is an acknowledgement of the existence of casual sexism.”

The APPSC now plans to take the movement forward and work in association with the Women’s Cell on campus.
“There are various issues that the Women’s Cell is dealing with. We are taking one step at a time but the idea is to create awareness about gender, equality and what accounts for sexism,” said a student.
News Source (Indian Express)