Eighty-six female students who resorted to a hunger strike in Haryana’s Rewari district ended their protest after Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said a notification has been issued to upgrade the Government High School at the Gothra Tappa Dahina village.
After Class X, the girls had to move to the neighbouring school which was several kilometres away. On their daily commute to the school, they faced harassment, eve-teasing and molestation by the boys of other villages.
The girls pledged that they would rather quit studying than be harassed at school everyday.
Haryana has one of the lowest Child Sex Ratios (CSR) in the country. The state has also witnessed horrific crimes against women in the recent past, including the gangrape and killing of a 23-year-old woman, and the rape of a minor girl by her stepfather.
Officials had earlier said the school could not be upgraded as it did not meet the condition of a minimum of 150 students required for the senior secondary level. But the girls’ grit saw their demands through.
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