Power has always been a male phenomenon here. They make the rules, to their convenience and enforce it inthe guise of Islam and the need for protecting women. Isn't education about equipping individuals to protectand defend themselves. If the system endorses your cripple status, who will liberate you? Here begins theconcern to take Aligarh Muslim University for the values that it truly upheld at one point in history.
Aligarh Muslim University has never had a female member in the students union. It has never had womenrepresentation in intervarsity sports and games competitions, for thirteen long years, women did not representthe university in the national youth festival. It was in 2000, the year I joined college, the secretary of theliterary club convinced the Coordinator that the girls could be part of the team. After severe deliberation,finally the university took its first mixed group of men and women. Though it was historical and might soundprimitive for an age old institution, the opposition and the criticism and scrutiny the girls had to gothrough can't be stated in words. We are not talking about a team of students here. But a team of men who haverenounced the student status and taken upon themselves to guard women in their university from the clutches ofmodernity and liberal influences. They would watch whom you talk to, the way you talk and tell you when tomove, when to sit and when to eat.