Girls fear being on the campus

DU campus turns unsafe for female students

Female students of Dhaka University say they feel insecure on the campus amid the rising number of harassment cases in the recent time.

They say male students of the university, especially the freshers, harass them, an allegation which has been raised by female outsiders as well.

In the last six months, a number of female students complained to the university proctor and police about harassment they had faced but nothing has been done to stop such acts. 

Girls fear being on the campus especially in the evening and beyond as harassment frequently occurs during that period.

Two third-year female students of international business and philosophy were harassed in mid-November by some resident students of Salimullah Muslim Hall while they were sitting with one of their male friends at Fuller Road area.

Shulob Chakma, the male friend and also a third-year student of law, said the boys hurled a stone at one of the girls before coming up and saying that they were very interested in talking to and befriending her.

Shulob told the boys that they all are students of the university, but still were treated inappropriately. The boys also forced them to leave the place.

The two girls, who requested anonymity, expressed deep concern while talking to the Dhaka Tribune and said they were shocked at the misconduct of Dhaka University students.

“Where will we go if we are not safe even on our university campus?” one of them said.

On November 5, four students of Shahidullah Hall beat up Imtiaz Alam Beg, principal of Beg Art Institute of Photography, and tore the clothes of his two nieces, who were with him on the campus.

Imtiaz, who had to get six stitches in his head, said he was chatting with his nieces by the pond near Shahidullah Hall when the assailants approached them and asked them if they were students of the university.

“When we replied no, they attacked us. Many resident students stood nearby and silently watched as we were assaulted. Nobody came to help,” he said.   

One of Imtiaz’s nieces was Saba Ahmed, who studied at the Institute of Business Administration of the university and now lives in Canada. She said she would never forget what happened on the day.

“I never thought I would be assaulted by junior students of the university I had studied at,” she added.

The victims filed a case with Shahbagh police station but no arrest has yet been made.

Besides, a probe team headed by the house tutor of Shahidullah Hall was formed after the incident. The team submitted its report after nearly two weeks but no action was taken based on it. The report was not made public either.

During the countrywide blackout on November 1, many female students claimed to have been physically assaulted by male students on the campus in the evening.

Shuma, a third-year student of sociology, told the Dhaka Tribune one of her cousins, a banker by profession, came to the campus to give her some necessary stuff.

“In the evening, we two were headed to the Business faculty but some students in front of the Arts building hurled abuse at us. The words they used beggar description,” she added.

Acting proctor of the university Amzad Ali said the authorities are very concerned about the security of female students, admitting that the girls are harassed frequently.

“We will direct police to maintain constant vigilance on the campus so that none could engage in such acts or get away with these,” he said, adding that any unbecoming behaviour aimed at harassing someone would be seriously dealt with.

Officer-in-Charge of Shahbagh police station Shirajul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune it becomes difficult to initiate legal proceedings against students of the university because the authorities of the educational institution do not cooperate as expected.

“We investigate crimes committed by the students if we fail to catch them red-handed. But it is the university authorities who do not assist us in the course of our duty, making it difficult for police to get to the end of a particular incident,” he added. 

Source

Picture Source: internet