Women's safety high on JNUSU nominees' agenda
This can be seen in the backdrop of an increasing number of crimes against women being reported on the campus, including the recent allegations of sexual harassment against two members of the All India Students Association (AISA).
With the student union elections days away, various parties at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) came out with the final list of their candidates on Wednesday.
Interestingly, almost all the parties have outlined women's safety as their agenda for the upcoming polls. This can be seen in the backdrop of an increasing number of crimes against women being reported on the campus, including the recent allegations of sexual harassment against two members of the All India Students Association (AISA).
The two AISA members, also office-bearers with Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), resigned earlier last month after the allegations surfaced.
The parties in poll fray this year are the left-wing Students Federation of India, the newly formed left alliance of Democratic Students' Federation and All India Students' Federation called the Left Progressive Front (LJF), the right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students' Union of India (NSUI).
The students will elect president, vice-president, general secretary, joint secretary along with councillors of different schools in the elections scheduled for September 12.
Rahila Perween, who is the only woman candidate fighting for the post of president at JNUSU, said the university needs women representation. "We talk about empowering women, but we only live in fear. So, we will fight so that women get representation and can exercise freedom without fear," Perween, the presidential candidate of LJF, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The other common agendas for the parties are to provide hostel facilities, improving infrastructure, providing alternate accommodation and increasing the scholarship amount.
ABVP, which has recently started gaining stronghold in JNU, said they want to restructure the courses and syllabus. "We also want restructuring of the courses and syllabus. It has become outdated. If we come to power, we will fight for it," Sourabh Kumar, presidential candidate of ABVP, said.