Mumbai: Hostels are not building blocks. The Gender Advisory Committee has submitted very important recommendations to the municipality regarding how these residences should be for women and girls from economically weaker sections who live away from their homes in the city for food, water and education. But these recommendations have not been implemented. A very important consideration has been given in relation to the residential spaces of women in the city. The members of the concerned committee have expressed the hope that if they are implemented and construction of women’s hostels will be achieved, both security and freedom will be achieved.
In the city planning plan, hostels and reserved spaces have been considered in terms of architecture. The issue of security of hostels is neglected in it. Considering the hostels based on the suggestions made by the Gender Advisory Committee will help in setting up safe hostels. There is a difference in the management and rules of hostels falling under private, government, municipality and semi-government groups and the fees charged. There is no consistency. Attendance records from the Department of Social Justice also seem to have stood the test of time, given the strict rules regarding parental visitation. Although availability of subsidy, CSR funds is the most useful issue to solve the security problem, the government keeps its hand when it comes to direct assistance. Therefore, the management of the institution has also raised the question of how to guarantee proper security by paying a meager amount to the security guards out of the fees that are charged to these girls.
There are strict restrictions on what girls can wear in the hostel. However, Supriya Sonar of Koro Institute raised the question why no system is made to ensure that they are safe in any clothes. He expressed the need to conduct a survey to see if these places of residence feel safe for girls coming to Mumbai from all corners of the state.
We need to think about quality, not quantity
In the past few years, the number of women and girls coming not only from the state but also from all corners of the country for the sake of employment and education has increased. Among them, the number of women in the age group of twenty to thirty five is the highest. The existing hostels do not have the capacity and availability to accommodate all the girls coming to the city. This subject should be handled more sensitively now. From matrons to security guards, from medical help to counsellors, from diet to mental health of girls, every aspect should be considered in the construction of hostels. Amrapali Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar, the head of the hostel in Chembur, also insisted that if better work is being done in other institutions than ours, the institution should know about it and make changes.
It should be considered
– The building should be manageable in terms of security
– CCTV cameras on every floor
– Security verification should be done two to three times
– Emphasis on harmony rather than compulsion of attendance at muster
– Availability of trained matrons, counsellors, medical experts
– Girls are allowed to meet their parents
– Availability of clean toilets, separate room for rest
– Places of hostels should be close to work, educational center
– Don’t compromise on food quality by spending more on safety
– Efforts to preserve food, safety, medical quality
– Half-yearly audit of the hostel is important
