Cong dubs Haryana govt ‘anti-women’ over jeans ban for teachers

Taking a strong exception to the Haryana education department’s order, barring school teachers from wearing jeans to work, Congress on Saturday dubbed the Manohar Lal Khattar government “anti women”.

Taking a strong exception to the Haryana education department’s order, barring school teachers from wearing jeans to work, Congress on Saturday dubbed the Manohar Lal Khattar government “anti women”.

Top Haryana education department officials defended the order barring women teachers from wearing jeans, saying teachers were regarded as role models for students and should be dressed appropriately. (HT Illustration/Jayanto)

“Be it Haryana or Madhya Pradesh, all the BJP-ruled states keep on issuing such decrees like what women should eat, how many children they should produce and what they should wear,” All India Mahila Congress president Shobha Oza told ANI. “It’s shameful that earlier too the Haryana chief minister had given objectionable statement on women. His thinking is anti-women.”

The Haryana education department last week ordered elementary- and middle-school teachers to not wear jeans to work or while visiting the Directorate in capital Chandigarh because it was “not appropriate”.

Read: Haryana education dept bars school teachers from wearing jeans to work

In 2012, the women and child development department had issued similar instructions, asking women employees to wear “decent” clothes while on the field.

The department order, which asked women employees to desist from wearing jeans and T-shirts to work and instead opt for salwar-kameez or saree, was withdrawn after it drew flak from various quarters.