NEET frisking: Chinmayi calls accused 'gatekeepers of patriarchy'

CHENNAI: Following arrests of five women who at the frisking duty objected to girl students wearing innerwears, singer Chinmayi commented on the arrests and called those who were arrested the 'gatekeepers of patriarchy'.

The singer-cum-dubbing artist, who vociferously advocates for gender parity, came down heavily on those arrested. She said she is unable to understand how can't women stand up to 'such draconian nonsense'.

An action was initiated by the National Testing Agency (NTA) following complaints from NEET aspirants and their parents stating they were asked to take off their innerwears as it had a metal hook to it causing the metal detector to spot it. The aspirants experienced mental agony saying they had to put their hair in front to cover their private parts.

A panel was set up by the NTA to probe into the incident following public protests and objections expressed by the Kerala government. Under these circumstances, five women of whom two worked in the institution where the incident took place were arrested.

A NEET aspirant in Kerala reported about this uncomfortable incident in the frisking room at the Mar Thoma Institute of Information Technology, Kollam which was one of the examination centres. She gained support in social media with other aspirants sharing a similar uneasy situation they faced when they appeared for the eligibility test for medical studies.