Menstruating Dalit Student Made To Take Exams Outside Class In Tamil Nadu

A Class 8 student of a private school in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore was forced to take her exams outside the classroom, apparently because she was menstruating. A video of the girl - who happens to be a Dalit -- sitting on the steps of the classroom was widely circulated, drawing action from the authorities. An inquiry has been ordered and the headmistress of the school has been suspended.

A 1.22-minute video, which NDTV could not independently verify, shows the girl seated on the steps, writing her exam. Her printed answer sheet bears the bears the name of the school -- "Swamy Chidbhavananda Matric Higher Secondary School, at Senguttaipalayam".

In the video, the girl is heard talking to a woman, believed to be her mother. "The principal asked me to sit here and write the exam," she said. She added that this was not a first. Earlier, she was made to take an exam from another isolated spot.