We, the undersigned students, wish to formally raise our concerns regarding the recent counselling/grooming session conducted exclusively for female students, during which several statements and themes promoted harmful gender stereotypes, reinforced victim-blaming narratives, and placed an unfair burden on girls for the behavior and actions of boys.

During the session, students were told that factors such as posture, clothing choices, visible undergarments, personal grooming, and overall appearance can “attract boys” or negatively affect how girls are perceived. Statements of this nature are deeply concerning because they imply that girls are responsible for managing male attention and preventing inappropriate behavior by regulating their own bodies and self-expression.

We believe this messaging is harmful for several reasons:

1. It shifts responsibility away from inappropriate behavior and places it onto girls.  
By suggesting that girls must modify how they dress, sit, or present themselves in order to avoid attracting attention, the school indirectly teaches that boys’ actions are something girls are expected to anticipate and manage.

2. It reinforces victim-blaming culture.  
When young girls are repeatedly taught that their appearance determines how they are treated, it normalizes the idea that respect and safety are conditional upon conforming to restrictive expectations rather than being basic rights afforded to all students.

3. It disproportionately targets female students while failing to hold male students equally accountable.  
If schools believe etiquette, conduct, safety, and respectful interaction are important values, then these conversations must be extended equally to boys. Respectful behavior and boundaries are responsibilities shared by all students, not lessons reserved only for girls.

4. It promotes outdated and discriminatory gender norms.  
Reducing a girl’s dignity or school image to factors such as appearance, clothing choices, or undergarments reinforces the harmful belief that girls exist under constant scrutiny and must continuously regulate themselves according to how others perceive them.

As students, we request the following actions:

• A formal review of the content delivered during this counselling session.  
• Immediate discontinuation of language that suggests girls are responsible for attracting or preventing inappropriate attention from boys.  
• Equal conduct, etiquette, and behavioural counselling sessions for male students, with specific emphasis on respect, boundaries, and accountability.  
• The implementation of future student counselling sessions that focus on consent, mutual respect, healthy boundaries, and gender equality rather than disproportionately policing girls’ appearance or behavior.  
• Greater transparency regarding the purpose and content of such sessions before they are conducted.

Schools should be spaces where students are taught confidence, equality, and mutual respect, not environments where girls are conditioned to believe that their safety and dignity depend on how successfully they manage the perceptions and actions of others.

We raise this concern not out of disrespect toward the institution, but because we believe educational spaces have a responsibility to promote fairness, accountability, and values that do not reinforce gender-based discrimination.

We respectfully ask the administration to acknowledge these concerns and take meaningful corrective action.