Women’s safety wing in Telangana compiles guide to identify sexism on campuses

Hyderabad: As part of its Stand With Her campaign, the Women's Safety Wing (WSW) has compiled a guide to help people, especially women, identify sexism on college campuses and understand how toxic masculinity harms men.The material will be circulated across educational institutions in Telangana and shared on social media. ‘Stand With Her', a year-long initiative, is being conducted by WSW in collaboration with TOI.Officials highlighted issues such as policing of women's attire and gender bias in recruitment."Recruiters may prefer men for roles involving travel, late hours or field work, assuming women may not be permitted or may drop out after marriage or childbirth. Women candidates are often questioned about marital status, raising doubts about their ability to balance work and home. Men, meanwhile, are seen as more ambitious, mobile and committed to long-term careers," officials said.The campaign will also address how patriarchy and toxic masculinity harm men, covering themes such as emotional suppression, consent, relationships and sexual norms through classroom sessions."We will train 10–12 people from each university as master trainers. They will, in turn, train two teachers and two students in every college. These four will lead monthly discussions on each theme. Our aim is to help students decide what behaviour is acceptable on their campus," said Charu Sinha, additional director general of police (CID & Women Safety)."In colleges, sexism often appears as treating someone as less competent, less credible or less suited to certain roles because of their gender," the WSW document states. It also outlines scenarios to help identify sexism and ways to respond.