Jadavpur varsity sets up panel to probe 'sanitary pad protest'

Kolkata, March 30: Disapproving of the "sanitary pad" campaign against rape and sexism on campus, the Jadavpur University on Monday set up a three-member fact-finding panel to probe the matter.

Following similar protests in New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia, a section of students have used sanitary napkins to spread feminist messages and deride sexism.

Stuck on walls and trees across the campus, the pads have messages like "I wish the rape culture repulsed you more than my blood" and "Naming and shaming the victim is sexual violence". [Jadavpur molestation: 2 engineering students held, governor questions students' silence]

"We don't yet know who are behind this. Such a way of protest is unwarranted. We have formed a three member fact finding committee that will find out who are behind this and then we will take suitable action," said Pro Vice Chancellor Ashish Verma.

The protest comes days after a first year student was allegedly molested and assaulted inside the campus. [Jadavpur University unrest: Students continue hunger strike; demand Vice Chancellor's removal]

"We wrote scores of messages on sanitary napkins and posters condemning sexual violence and rape culture, also keeping in mind the recent developments in Jadavpur University. We hope this initiative will find acceptance among the students of the University and also ones outside it... Let the battle against Patriarchy continue," one of the protesters said on Facebook.

The unique protest finds it roots in "Pads Against Sexism" a campaign initiated by Elone Kastratia, a German woman who wrote messages against rape and sexism on sanitary pads and stuck them at public places in Karlsruhe in Germany on International Women's Day.

IANS