Menstruating Dalit girl in Tamil Nadu made to take exam outside class, headmistress suspended
A private school in Coimbatore district has come under scrutiny after a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly made to sit outside her classroom to write her exams because she was menstruating.
The headmistress of the higher secondary school in Senguttaipalayam village has been suspended over the incident, said top officials in the district school education department.
A video, purportedly recorded by the girl’s mother, showed her writing the exam on a staircase and was shared widely on social media on Wednesday.
In the video, the girl, who belongs to the Arunthathiyar community, purportedly explains that she was barred from entering her classroom after her teacher informed the principal that she had attained puberty.
“If someone gets their period, does that mean they cannot sit inside the classroom and write their exams?” her mother is heard asking in the background. “Should they sit on the road and write?”
The school management had placed the headmistress under suspension pending inquiry.
A preliminary probe by the school education department and police found that the girl’s mother had simply requested separate arrangements for the girl to write the exam as it was her first period.
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“Initial inquiry revealed that the mother had been aware of the arrangement. The girl, currently in Class VIII, began menstruating on April 5. She was made to take her science exam on April 7 and her social science paper on April 9 while seated on a staircase. While the school insists the decision was based on the mother’s preference, the mother was offended at seeing her daughter writing the exam without even a desk. We have issued a show-cause notice in parallel to the probe by the school education department,” said a senior police officer.
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