Protest forces DU to scrap rule banning married, pregnant women from residential halls

Facing a storm of protests, Dhaka University has scrapped a rule that debarred married and pregnant female students from residing in its dormitories.

Dhaka University Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 Dec 2021, 06:18 PM
Updated : 22 Dec 2021, 06:18 PM

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Provost Standing Committee on Wednesday amid protests from students who pressed for several demands.

Prof Abdul Basir, chairman of the committee, confirmed the revocation of the controversial rule while highlighting the importance of a "family environment" for pregnant women.

"In the case of pregnant students, it is important to stay in the family environment so that the health of the child and the mother is not endangered."

On the demands of the protesting students, Prof Bachir said: "Two demands were discussed in the meeting. Students can put down the names of both the local guardian and the contact person for contact purposes because many of them give their friend’s phone numbers instead of parents. Several students have been caught doing it."

The students have to sign an undertaking before taking up residence in the dormitory of Dhaka University.

One of the conditions required students who are married to inform the authorities about their status immediately or risk losing their dormitory seat for a violation of rules. Only in special cases would a married female student be allowed to stay in the hall but no considerations would be made for pregnant women.

A Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir also served a legal notice on Dhaka University over the "highly discriminatory" rule.

The rule will prevent married female students from pursuing higher studies without a proper residential provision, he said.

Students had previously held demonstrations over the issue. The media has also highlighted the existence of such a rule at the highest educational institution in the country.

A group of women students from five residential halls at Dhaka University held a press briefing on the issue on Dec 17. They presented a four-point list of demands, which included the removal of the rule.

Their demands were:

>> Scrap the existing rule banning married female students from residing in halls

>> To respect students as adults, the phrase ‘emergency contact’ has to be used instead of ‘local guardian’ on forms

>> Any harassment or non-cooperation by residential teachers, officials and staff should be stopped and exemplary actions should be taken against them

>> Non-resident students should be allowed to enter the halls when their academic session is ongoing, and they should be allowed to reside in the halls in case of emergency