Telangana govt bars married women from residential colleges, calls them `distraction`

Hyderabad: In an atypical rule, the Telangana government has ruled that only unmarried women will be eligible to apply at the social welfare residential women's colleges in the state.

The government believes that married women in educational institutions distract others.

As per a notification on the website of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS): “Online applications are invited only from women (unmarried) candidates for TSWDCET-2017 for admission into 1st year B.A/B.Com/B.Sc Degree English Medium Courses in TSW Residential Degree Colleges for Women for the Academic Year 2017-18.”

Defending the diktat, TSWREIS content manager B Venkat Raju told The Times of India: “The intention is to ensure that other girls in the residential degree colleges do not get distracted because there is every possibility of husbands visiting their wives weekly once or in a fortnight. We do not want any kind of distraction among students.”

Talking to NewsX, National Commission for Women (NCW) chief, Lalitha Kumaramangalam, described the decision as regressive. “No one has any right to tell any women, that you cannot educate yourself,” she added.

The Times of India, meanwhile, reported that the rule is in place for a year now, and 4,000 such women are studying in these hostels. They will move to the second year in the next academic year, said the daily.