To,

Vice Chancellor Prof R.J. Rao, Barkatullah University

UPDATE: Jan 4, 2019

We won!

Bhopal’s Barkatullah University has scrapped its proposed “Adarsh Bahu” course!

We’ve been in touch with the students union leaders at the university since the beginning of the campaign and here’s what they told us: “The course was not appropriate to be launched for the students”.

We delivered more than 640 signatures from Jhatkaa.org members to the former Vice-Chancellor (VC) DC Gupta and the current VC Prof RJ Rao. We followed up with repeated calls to get an official response.

This course could have very well become a reality if we all had not grabbed the opportunity to shut it down when the media let the news out.

This is an important victory, possible because we used our collective voices to call out this sexist course.

UPDATE: 8 October 2018

We spoke to Barkatullah University former Vice Chancellor DC Gupta about his alarming proposal to launch an ‘Adarsh Bahu’ (Ideal daughter-in-law) course.

He has received our letter raising our concerns with this ridiculous course that only strengthens age-old stereotypes about women. He said “the course has not been activated and is still under review.”

The good news -- Barkatullah University has a new VC, Prof RJ Rao, who has yet to make a decision on launching the ‘Adarsh Bahu’ course.

This is our opportunity to ask the new VC to start afresh and scrap this course for the next year.

UPDATED: 18 September 2018

This just in -- Bhopal’s Barkatullah University is set to launch a three-month crash course on ‘adarsh bahus’.

The course is as bizarre as the above sentence sounds. By asking our girls to be adarsh bahus, the university is reinforcing age-old stereotypes about Indian women and domesticity.

Women are much more than that -- today women have proved their mettle in every field. Let’s remind Barkatullah University Vice Chancellor DC Gupta that there’s no place for an “adarsh bahu” course in a progressive society.

And guess what? The VC actually believes that it is his “university’s endeavor to work towards women’s empowerment through this course.”

“Patriarchy trying to find innovative ways to survive. Career oriented courses are history now.”

Indian netizens don’t think this ‘adarsh bahu’ course does anything to further women’s empowerment. Do you agree?

If yes, sign the petition now to ensure that this ridiculous course is removed immediately. If we don’t act now, who knows, an ‘adarsh bahu’ course could become a permanent feature in universities across the country.

Source:

Bhopal's Barkatullah University to Launch 'Adarsh Bahu' Course -- The Wire