The Dhaka University authorities have abolished the rule that banned the stay of pregnant and married female students in residential halls of the university.
The DU authorities have withdrawn the earlier notice issued for pregnant and female married students to vacate their halls of residence. From now on, the pregnant and female married students will be allowed to stay in all the female dormitories of the university.
The provost committee of Dhaka University made the decision and withdrew the notice in this regard at a meeting on Wednesday evening .
AKM Golam Rabbani, proctor of Dhaka University, said that the rule regarding marriage and pregnancy has been abolished. From now on, married female students will also be able to stay in the residential halls.
Earlier Dhaka University authorities were served with a legal notice over its rule banning pregnant and married female students from residing in residential halls.
The rule is extremely discriminatory against women and contrary to the country’s Constitution. Such rule should be scrapped, said the legal notice.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, a Supreme Court lawyer and also a former student of the faculty of law of Dhaka University, sent the legal notice on Wednesday.
The lawyer sent the legal notice to the vice-chancellor of the university, the registrar, the proctor and the provosts of three dormitories for female students -- Shamsunnahar Hall, Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hall and Sufia Kamal Hall.
In the legal notice, the Dhaka University authorities were requested to abolish the existing restriction on pregnant and married female students over staying at residential halls in three working days.
The notice said that pregnant and married female students would be deprived of higher education if the restriction remains in force. This is a discriminatory provision. “The rule, which is extremely discriminatory against women, should be scrapped in three working days. Otherwise, we will go to the High Court,” said Advocate Shishir Manir.
As per Section 16 of the rules on Shamsun Nahar Hall’s seat allocation and other disciplinary directives, if a student gets married, she must inform the authorities without delay and her seat will be cancelled otherwise. Only in special cases will a married student be allowed to stay in the dorm. However, a pregnant student will not be permitted to stay in the dorm. “It is highly discriminatory,” Shishir Manir said.
The move came amid protests by the female students of the university. Students previously staged demonstrations over the issue. The media has also highlighted the existence of such a rule at the highest educational institution in the country.
According to Articles 27 and 28 of the country’s Constitution, all citizens are equal in the eye of law and the state cannot discriminate against any citizen based on their religion, community, race, gender or place of birth.
Students called for the law to be scrapped. A group of female students from five residential halls at Dhaka University held a press briefing on the issue on Friday. They presented a four-point demand, which included the removal of the rule.
Their demands were: To scrap the 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.
