A women’s college in India has reportedly dropped its new dress code following a student protest. The short-lived rule was said to have been put in place in order to ensure “better marriage proposals” for the school’s pupils.

Dozens of students at St. Francis College for Women in Hyderabad held signs and chanted slogans denouncing a new rule stipulating that their kurtis – a loose, collarless shirt – must be long enough to cover their knees. The decree seemed particularly restrictive considering that shorts and sleeveless dresses were already banned.

The regulation was implemented in order to stop female students from “distracting” their male instructors, according to local media reports. The rule was also bizarrely billed as a way to obtain “better marriage proposals” for the college’s pupils.

#Hyderabad-More than100 students are protesting at the St. #Francis College in Hyd, against Moral Policing. Students tell me- they have been asked to wear ‘long kurtas’ to ‘not distract male faculty’ and ‘for better marriage proposals.’ ‘No negotiations’ -say students #Telanganapic.twitter.com/OVm9tB8oem — Rishika Sadam (@RishikaSadam) September 16, 2019

A video that went viral on social media over the weekend showed several women being denied entry to the college, after their kurtis were deemed too short. A female security guard was shown tugging at the prohibited garments.

That all changed on Monday, when enraged students mobilized to put an end to the long-kurtis tyranny. Some of the creative signage held during the demonstration included ‘My kurti, my choice’, ‘say no to long kurti’ and ‘#FreeTheKnees.’

Hyderabad: Students of St. Francis College For Women protest against the new rule under which the students have been ordered to wear 'kurtis' below knee length while shorts, sleeveless or other similar dresses are banned in the campus. #Telanganapic.twitter.com/x6luaPuvRE — ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2019

Local media reported that the protest, attended by 150 students, succeeded in reversing the rule.

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