THE 'FREEDOM to dress' movement has rapidly catched up in Kanpur, city of Uttar Pradesh. Four colleges for women in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district Dayanand Degree College (DDC), Acharya Narendra Dev College (ANDC), Sen Balika College (SBC) and Johari Degree College (JDC) - all affiliated to Kanpur University have prohibited their students from wearing jeans on campus, citing the move will check eve-teasing incidents.

If we see this decision with a point of view of a girl then this will be against their constitutional and legal rights, but with the increasing number of incidents with the girls and in order to ensure the safety of girls in our society this decision was taken by the college authorities of Kanpur University.

A working woman appreciates the step taken by the kanpur college authorities that the move had been taken to check eve-teasing and ensure discipline. Western dresses, including body-hugging tops and tight-fitting jeans, don’t indicate a disciplined atmosphere and attract comments from eve-teasers. In fact, in the schools too, the government had decided to put the dress code with a view that it will bring a feeling of unanimity among the school, it will curb the sense of rich and poor, so that the social difference will not get encouraged among them but today, after entering college the students just don’t pay attention to their parents and do what they want. She added that the decision of the authorities were incomplete, they should even introduce the dress code for the boys too so that girls and boys would accept this decision wholetogether.

Students, mostly girls, too have lost no time in registering their protest. "Students need a forum to express our displeasure. The entire idea seems designed to go against the rights of girl students. Jeans and T-shirts are an essential part of college attire the world over. Wearing jeans is common among college students. We can understand the ban against mini skirts and short tops, but why jeans? Why should we be asked to keep off?" asked a former student of Delhi University.

She added, “There are 30 per cent of rape victims who are minors and poor women. In no way can girls' clothes be responsible for the violence against them. If something is really responsible for the violence and attacks against women, it is the lack of steps taken by the administration to ensure safety of girls, the negligence of the police and the government as well.”

And UP government waste no time to remove the impromptu decision by the State Principals’ Council of aided post graduate degree colleges to ban girl students from wearing jeans on campus. In fact, special instructions have been given to the colleges that if any college found enforcing the ban would invite legal action.

Many are of the opinion that whatever happening to the girls is just because of the mentality of anti social elements. There is no problem occurred with the girls due to the clothes they have wear, short skirts may be held responsible for the eve-teasing incidents but jeans are not the one which looks vulgar and we can also say that the behaviour of some girls are over-control so this may be a reason that because of openness in their behaviour, these incidents are taking place  in society and this is the responsibility of the society to take requisite measures to make it safe instead of taking away the rights of  girls.