The Telangana government said that, only unmarried women are eligible to continue the education in the social welfare residential women’s degree colleges with undergraduate course like B.A., B.com and B.Sc. etc. The decision was made as in residential colleges husbands may distract their wives by visiting in the college and that may disturb other women studying there.

“The intention to ensure that other girls in the residential degree colleges do not get distracted because there is every possibility of husbands visiting their wives weekly once or in a fortnight. We do not want any kind of distraction among students’’, the content manager of Telangana social welfare residential education institutions society B Venkat Raju said.

The rule is applied for one year. There are 23 residential colleges for women with 280 students each per year. They get food and everything without any cost. 75% seats are reserved for SCs and the remaining 25% seats are for STs/BCs and for general category.

“We don’t encourage married women but at the same time won’t prevent them if they approach us for admission. Our intention is neither to deny nor hurt any one’s feelings”, the society secretary Dr. R S Praveen Kumar said.

Women activists said that it is not only a disgraceful decision but also the marriages itself is being put to disgrace.” How can an institution of the state government itself block the education of married women when child marriages are so rampant in both urban and rural areas of Telangana?”asked V Sandhya of progressive organization of women.