Most of the Indian girls will resonate with the word ‘characterless’ as it is a universally accepted term for subjugating the feminine gender. Forget lengths of the skirt, the way girls sit, the volume at which they laugh and their amicability with boys are some of the many factors which can define the ‘character’ of the girls in schools. “We were told to not tie a ponytail, rather tie the hair into plaits,” said Manya. She tells us that most of the schools despise girls who show up with untied hair or even bangs. “Apparently, the teachers think that if girls untie their hair, boys will be attracted to them… as if a changed hairstyle could mean anything more than a personal choice for us,” she says, ridiculed. Pranjal tells us, “The schools had such a big problem with the lengths of our skirts that they eventually changed the uniform to pants, for everyone.” Guess we have gender neutral dress codes for way different reasons.