Dhaka University's female students, who now comprise a majority of the student body, have once again demanded the complete abolition of the ‘evening curfew’ imposed in their residential halls, rejecting a proposal to relax the restriction by an hour.
At a press conference in front of Rokeya Hall on Thursday afternoon, students under the banner of ‘Oborodhbasini’ said ensuring the safety of female students is the responsibility of the university administration, but doing so by restricting their movement in the name of security is not a solution.
'Evening curfew' at DU women's halls: Provost Standing Committee recommends 1-hour extension
The students have been protesting for the past several days under the banner of ‘Oborodhbasini’, demanding the withdrawal of the ‘evening curfew’ in female halls and unrestricted access to the halls 24 hours a day.
They have been carrying out a continuous movement with three demands since July 30. As part of the campaign, they have distributed leaflets, put up posters, held processions and organised signature campaigns among female students.
Their demands include the immediate abolition of the existing “discriminatory evening curfew” from 10pm to 6am in female residential halls and ensuring the overall security of female students while allowing them to move freely 24 hours a day; allowing female students to enter any female residential hall by showing a valid identity card and stay there overnight with proper permission; and ensuring female students have the right to allow their female relatives to enter the halls.
At the press conference, Shamsun Nahar Hall student Ishrat Jahan Imu said more than 1,200 female students submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor on August 9 with their signatures. On August 10, they also issued a specific ultimatum to the administration through a solidarity rally demanding the abolition of the evening curfew.
However, she said, the administration ignored all their demands and instead proposed relaxing the curfew by only one hour. According to the students, such a proposal undermines the civil and fundamental rights of female students, and there is no scope for compromise with the administration on the issue.
Earlier, a meeting of the Provost Standing Committee proposed extending the entry time for female students by one hour on Wednesday. The proposal is still slated to be placed before the university’s Syndicate meeting.
According to the students, if a female student needs to go out at night or return late to the hall for an emergency or academic research, she is required to submit a written undertaking to the administration. The undertaking states ominously that the university or hall administration will not be responsible for the student’s safety.
They described the absence of such conditions for male students at the same university as “extreme discrimination.”
The students said their programmes would continue until the discriminatory evening curfew is completely abolished and female students are guaranteed unrestricted movement and security at every part of the campus 24 hours a day. They said various hall-based programmes, including sit-ins and street meetings, would be organised as part of the movement.
Under the existing rules, female students at the University of Dhaka are not allowed to enter or leave their residential halls between 10pm and 6am. If they need to go out or return late, they are required to obtain prior permission through a late pass from the house tutors, which is not always possible. In emergencies, the hall authorities contact the students’ local guardians before allowing them to leave.