Hey everyone,

I’m making this post to bring attention to a deeply disturbing and regressive event that recently took place at Delhi Public School (DPS) Ruby Park, Kolkata.

Full disclosure: I wasn’t personally present in this session. However, over the last few days, I have heard nothing but non-stop, widespread accounts from my friends and classmates who were there. The screenshots from Instagram stories and student group chats are circulating everywhere, and the student community is absolutely furious.

Under the guise of a mandatory "counselling" and "grooming" webinar/session, the school administration and female teachers chose to target, scrutinize, and victim-shame 15-to-16-year-old female students, while completely excluding the boys to "avoid making them uncomfortable."

What Happened During the Session?

According to multiple accounts from the girls who attended, instead of addressing actual issues like mutual respect, consent, or basic civil behavior, the administration singled them out and subjected them to blatant character assassination. Here are some of the exact directives and statements reported word-for-word by students:

• Policing Uniforms and Innerwear: Girls were explicitly told to ensure their "undergarments can't be seen through their shirts" and were told "not to wear coloured innerwears, attract attention by your behaviour and personality." Another classmate confirmed the speaker said, "don't wear coloured undergarments, do smth else to get that kind of attention."
• Physical Restrictions: Girls were instructed on how to sit—specifically being told to sit "with our legs closed" so their thighs aren't visible—and were told that wearing a school skirt above the knee is inherently "attention-seeking."
• Defending the Male Gaze & Shifting Blame: In a horrifying display of victim-blaming, a speaker told the girls: "If u push the boundaries like touching them or getting close to them u are giving them the right." They were constantly reminded that "your dignity is in your hands," implying that a girl's character, intent, and worth are defined entirely by how much of her body is visible.

The Double Standards and Hypocrisy

When the administration was questioned by students about why a matching session wasn't held for boys to teach them about objectification and respect, their response was downright outrageous: They didn't include our male classmates because it would make the boys "uncomfortable." The school chose to protect the comfort of one party at the absolute cost of fear, control, and shame for another. At the end of the day, we are all students who come to school to learn. To reduce a 16-year-old girl's daily life to an ongoing effort to manage the thoughts of teenage boys is exhausting and deeply damaging.

The teachers ended their speech by telling the girls to follow these ethics on a "small scale," claiming, "this will do you good for the rest of ur life, when u get to the real world." The irony is that this mentality directly feeds into a toxic culture where women are held responsible for the behavior of abusers and harassers.

Moving Forward: Why This Matters

Even though I didn't experience the session firsthand, seeing what my friends went through makes it clear that this isn't just about rigid dress codes. It's about a dangerous, systemic mentality that the heads of the administration are drilling into the minds of young students. Treating a visible knee or the outline of a sports bra under a mandatory uniform as a "provocation" completely absolves boys of accountability and teaches them that objectification is a natural consequence of how a girl exists.

The girls at DPS Ruby Park are taking a stand, and the entire student body needs to back them up. There is an active push to demand a boys' counselling session that addresses basic civil behavior, respect, and dismantling these toxic double standards.

The responsibility for objectification lies entirely with those who engage in it, not with the girls who are subjected to it.

DPS Ruby Park administration, do better.

How to Support: If you want to support the student body and demand accountability from the school administration, students and allies can sign the petition on the issue here:

👉 Sign the Petition on Change.org