To

Dr. M.S. Shejul, Registrar, Symbiosis International

Dr. Sukhvinder Singh Dari, Deputy Director, SLS

UPADTE: 15 November 2019

WE DID IT! 

Apoorva Yarabahalli and Snigdha Jayakrishnan are back on Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad (SLS-H) campus. What’s even better is that they are back without wasting the academic year. 

What a year it has been! In November 2018, we reached out to the two students after they were suspended from SLS-H for accusing a professor of sexual harassment. 

One year on, after multiple Twitterstorms, a viral comic illustration, media hits, phone calls, formal letters, we know our collective actions made an impact! Symbiosis has been forced to take sexual harassment seriously -- and what’s more, the National Commision for Women, Ministry for Women and Child Development and the University Grants Commission are closely following this case. 

None of this would have happened without the support of our members. Make a contribution so that we can continue to tackle sexual harassment on college campuses.

UPDATE: 01 August 2019

Snigdha and Apoorva of Symbiosis Law School, Hyderbad are not backing down in their fight against sexual harassment. 

The harassment and shaming they have faced has shown us just how much work is left to be done in creating university campuses that have zero tolerance for sexual harassment. 

In the 10 months that Snigdha and Apoorva have been out of college for raising concerns about their Internal Complaints Committee, Jhatkaa.org members like you have left no stone unturned in trying to get them back on campus. It’s been an incredible journey. 

I still remember the day we got a direct email from the former  Minister of Women and Child Development Ms. Maneka Gandhi in February 2019, demanding Snigdha and Apoorva to be taken back on the campus.

Since then, the National Commission for Women and the University Grants Commission have also intervened. That means these agencies can be brought in as allies to ensure the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act is followed.  

Inspite, of all this pressure the Registrar at Symbiosis still stands by his decision that asking Snigdha and Apoorva to leave was a disciplinary action.

But, the two students are not taking no for an answer.

This campaign has taught us a lot. For one, there is a lack of awareness around POSH procedures for Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) on campus. Unless there’s external public pressure -- be it the media or members like you -- educational institutions keep the issue under wraps and often end up doing injustice to the complainants. 

We need to break this trend. That’s why we’ve got Snigdha and Apoorva on board to work with us on our ICC toolkits project. We want  to make the POSH guidelines around the mandate and responsibilities of the ICC accessible and easy-to-understand for college students. This toolkit will function as a one-stop guide to go about seeking redressal for sexual harassment complaints and holding colege ICCs accountable. 

To be honest, this long-drawn out campaign has exhausted a lot of our resources. We’ve done social media ads, Twitter-storms, phone-ins, one-on-one meetings with government agencies, collaborated with artists, sent SMSes. Now, we need your help to sustain our ICC toolkits work. 

While this is an emotional moment for us to close this campaign, it’s also a new beginning to pilot our project to strengthen ICCs across campuses in India. 

It’s going to be a long fight and we’re counting on your support! 

UPDATE: 17 July 2019

Over 200 Jhatkaa.org members sent private emails to Dr. M.S. Shejul, the Registrar at Symbiosis International. 

Their emails asked him for a statement on the case of Snigdha and Apoorva who had spoken up about sexual harassment and were kicked out of college seven months ago. 

In that time, thanks to pressure built by our members, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Commission for Women (NCW) have all made direct interventions calling for Snigdha and Apoorva to be brought back on campus. 

Symbiosis International has felt the heat before: they removed the accused professor via an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) investigation. 

We know our pressure is being felt -- Jhatkaa.org’s twitter account has been blocked by Symbiosis. That’s why we need your help in raising a Twitterstorm.

Building sustained pressure and bringing in intervention from three big government institutions has taken a lot of resources and sleepless nights. But, we are in no mood to back off.  

You can pick your tweet here: 

Tweet 1: We know you have instructions from @MinistryWCD @NCWIndia and @ugc_india to take Snigdha and Apoorva back on the campus. Why haven’t you taken them back yet? We want a statement. @symbiosistweets @vidyayeravdekar @jhatkaa

Tweet 2: It’s been 7 months and Snigdha and Apoorva haven’t gotten back on campus. This is after interventions from @NCWIndia, @MinistryWCD and @ugc_india. Is this how you treat students who raise their voices? We need answers NOW! @symbiosistweets @vidyayeravdekar @jhatkaa

Tweet 3: Heights! Three media storms and interventions from @NCWIndia, @MinistryWCD and @ugc_india has brought the two students closer to justice. It’s time @symbiosistweets takes the final step of replying to the institutions and take the students back. @vidyayeravdekar @jhatkaa

Snigdha and Apoorva have fought well and so have you. We are in the last leg of this campaign. Let’s not stop here. 

UPDATE: 04 July 2019

Jhatkaa.org members took a stand for Snigdha and Apoorva and the pressure is being felt! 

In a latest development, Ms. Kundla Mahajan - Under Secretary UGC sent a letter urging SLS Registrar Dr. MS Shejul to comment immediately on the sexual harassment case. 

This breakthrough comes soon after the intervention from National Commission for Women (NCW) and Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD). 

It’s been over 15 days since the UGC sent their letter and the registrar is yet to respond. We cannot let this opportunity go -- email Dr. MS Shejul asking him to speak up.

UPDATE: 26 April 2019

We have big news! This morning I visited the National Commission for Women (NCW) office in New Delhi. 

I am happy to report that Snigdha and Apoorva’s case is high priority for the NCW. Thanks to your intervention we got the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to bring the case to the NCW.  

I spoke with the legal liaison officer and she informed me that they are taking stringent action against Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad for flouting the POSH guidelines.

The NCW has asked me to inform Snigdha and Apoorva that they should be ready for a formal hearing soon. 

UPDATE: 29 March 2019

Our coordinated Twitter storm got us an important reply from Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development (MWCD). She got in touch directly with the students for more details on the case. 

The MWCD then sent a directive to the National Commission for Women (NCW) to intervene. 

I spoke with a legal aid at NCW and they have confirmed that “the team is working actively on the case and will take action at the earliest.”

This flow of information amid the various ministries was only possible because members like you tweeted at the Symbiosis International handle. Pitch in here to help us continue to build public pressure about this case. 

Here is a moving message from Snigdha: “It’s gives me so much strength to know that there are so many people who believe in us. We would have never got so far without public support.” 

UPDATE: 7 March 2019

It’s confirmed! Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has stepped in to ensure that Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad (SLS-H) takes Snigdha and Apoorva back in the college.

An intervention letter from Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) comes after months of Jhatkaa.org members asking SLS to reinstate the students back in the college.

The letter reads: “The Hon'ble Minister has desired that the students should be reinstated and allowed to attend classes in the Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. An Action Taken Report in the matter may please be sent for kind perusal of the Hon'ble Minister WCD.”

The instructions are addressed to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). Phone call follow-ups with the ministry suggest that the University Grants Commission (UGC) will be asked to take action on the university.

UPDATE: 24 January 2019

Public pressure worked! Symbiosis has just sent an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) notification to Snigdha and Apoorva recommending the dismissal of the accused professor.

Over 1,500 Jhatkaa.org members signed the petition, called and mailed the college authorities. And finally, with the collective pressure of over 120 tweets, Symbiosis caved in.

Thank You for taking action! This is a big step towards getting justice for the girls. This shows us that Symbiosis is watching their social media channels and responding to public pressure.

Our collective Twitter storm also managed to get some much-needed media attention.

We must not stop here -- that’s why we want to carry out another round of social media ads raising awareness about the issue. But, we’ve used up our budget for ads. If 25 members like you contribute Rs. 400 each we can raise Rs. 10,000 and reach 30,000 Facebook users over a 5-day period.

UPDATE: 22 January 2019

The last three months have been eventful! While Snigdha and Apoorva have not yet been able to get back into college, they have inspired us with their courage to leave no stone unturned in their fight for justice.

Snigdha and Apoorva have taken the legal course to get their place back in the college -- they have filed a writ petition in Telangana High Court asking for official documents to prove why they have been expelled from college.

Your support through signatures, emails and phone calls to college authorities, and a successful Twitter storm have ensured the spotlight stays on the unjust treatments of these two students by bringing some much-needed media attention.

We are committed to supporting the students in their struggle -- and will need your continued actions to do this.

DATE: 15 November 2018

“You are hereby requested to vacate the campus from today i.e. October 26, 2018 till further order.”

Exactly 20 days ago, two students at Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad  -- Apoorva Y and Snigdha Jayakrishnan -- received this hostel eviction notice. They had one thing in common -- both of them had revealed instances of harassment by a college professor and had called him out of Facebook.

They were also orally rusticated from the college. Is this what we want to offer the girls who muster the courage to speak up against harassment? Join us in asking the registrar at Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad to take these students back in the hostel and issue an enquiry on the accused professor.

The college is shut for a month for internships and these two students have their careers hanging in the balance as the college has asked them “wait until further notice.”

Let’s strike while the iron is hot -- Ask the college to take action NOW. Let’s show that we are not ready to wait.

The girls need your support because students standing up for them have been told not to. “College authorities have asked students to unlike our Facebook posts,” confirms Snigdha.

College authorities are also trying to cover this untimely rustication with “statements of truth” stating that this was a “disciplinary action”  for abuse of social media, damaging the reputation of the institute, disrupting the classroom amongst others, taken against the two students.

Let’s not allow these elements to hamper the fire of the #MeToo movement in India. Sign here so that we can ensure that the girls get their rooms and education back. Every small fight counts.

Sources:

These Illustrations Remind You How 2 Students In Hyd Stood Up To Sexual Harassment - InUth

This Illustrated Series Is Using Instagram to Spark Social Change -- The Vice

Tweet storm brews over Symbi’s Hyd law college ouster of girl duo - The Pune Mirror

Symbiosis Law School Hyd evicts 2 students from hostel after 'Me Too' post on professor - The News Minute