Girls told to strip to prove they weren't menstruating

Bhuj/New Delhi : At least 68 girl students of Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI) in Gujarat's Bhuj were allegedly forced to remove their innerwear to prove that they were not menstruating.

The students are now demanding action legal action against the authorities of the education institution for making such a move even as the National Commission for Women (NCW) has set up an inquiry committee which will meet the students who were reportedly forced to strip.

"We do respect our institution, but what they did was not right. A legal action should be taken against them. We decided to call the media to throw light on the matter," one of the complainants told ANI.

The girl alleged that the principal of the institute blackmailed and forced them to withdraw the complaint.

"The principal and a few others have called us and tried to emotionally blackmail us. He also told us to give in writing that everything is fine now. We want legal action and not just the apology from the administration," she said.

Responding to the claims, Darshana Dholakia, SSGI Dean, said that an inquiry team has been formed to look into the matter.

"The matter is related to the hostel and it has nothing to do with the university or college. Everything happened with the girls' permission and nobody was forced. No one touched them. An inquiry team has been constituted to look into the matter," she said.

The NCW has set up an inquiry committee which will meet the students of a college in Gujarat who were reportedly forced to strip to prove that they were not menstruating.

The Commission has also sought an explanation from the trustee of Sahjanand Girls' Institute College, Pravin Pindora and the principal Rita Raniga for this "shameful exercise", an NCW statement said.

"NCW has also appraised the Kutch University in-charge Vice Chancellor Darshna Dholakia and the DGP of Gujurat, Shivanand Jha (IPS) to look into the matter thoroughly and report to the Commission at the earliest on their action taken report," the statement added.