- A 19-year-old Delhi University student claimed she was barred from stage for wearing a sleeveless suit
- The event, held at Shri Ram College, was a women's youth parliament organized by a government ministry
- The student said she was to felicitate a Union Minister but was stopped due to her traditional outfit
A student from Delhi University has claimed she was stopped from going on stage at a youth event because of her outfit. In an Instagram video, Saarah Sharma, a student of Daulat Ram College, alleged she was not allowed to take the stage during a Women's Youth Parliament event as her traditional suit was sleeveless. The event, titled 'Nari Shakti: Viksit Bharat ki Awaaz,' was held at Shri Ram College of Commerce on April 12 and organised by Mera Yuva Bharat under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
In the video, Sharma explained that she had been selected to felicitate Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. However, she alleged that a woman official stopped her at the last moment and told her she could not go on stage because of her attire. Sharma said she felt "weird, disgusted, and extremely embarrassed." She also pointed out that her outfit followed the traditional dress code and that other attendees were dressed in a similar way.
"Yeh ek purely women's conference thi, matlab yahan saare portfolios women ko diye gaye the. Yahan chief guest ke roop mein Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya ji khud aaye the, aur mujhe felicitation ke liye bulaya gaya tha. Jab main wahan pahunchi, toh ministry officials ne mujhe dekha aur kaha ki aapne sleeveless pehna hai, aap unko felicitate nahi kar sakti." (This was a purely women's conference, meaning all the portfolios were assigned to women. The chief guest here was Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya himself, and I was invited to felicitate the judges. When I reached there, ministry officials saw me and said that since I was wearing a sleeveless outfit, I could not felicitate them.)
Watch the video here:
Conflicting Accounts Emerge
However, another student present at the event disputed this version. Vibha Chhabra, who was also part of the felicitation, said Sharma had agreed to step aside after discussions among participants about who would go on stage. She claimed the decision was related to managing multiple roles and stage appearances, not clothing.
A separate account also supported this version, stating that the organisers did not object to sleeveless attire. According to Disha Goyal, Sharma and another participant discussed swapping roles, but eventually Sharma agreed to let the other student handle the felicitation to avoid changes in speeches and responsibilities.
"One of the other girls (ministerial portfolio) wanted to felicitate the guests and asked the same of the ministry officials present there. The officials asked her to talk among themselves and get it sorted since they didn't want to come in between and deny somebody. That person went to Saara and discussed if she could step back and let her felicitate instead. Saara said to her, "I want to do the felicitation; if you want, let's change the ministerial portfolio. You take up WDC, but let me do the felicitation."
The other girl denied it since speeches would get changed. So finally Saara agreed and asked her to do the felicitation. Even I'm a girl, and I would be the first one to stand if anything like that would have actually happened. And the sad part is I would have believed you too had I not heard the entire conversation. Please stop doing anything and everything for social media fame," Goyal wrote in the comments section of
The incident has triggered debate on social media, with many questioning whether dress codes were unfairly enforced at an event focused on women's empowerment, while others pointed to the conflicting accounts of what actually happened.
