Pakistan's National University Of Science & Technology Slammed For Talibanization Of Campus, Female Students Fined For Wearing Tight Jeans, Not Wearing Dupattas

Pakistani cartoonist Sabir Nazar takes aim at Talibanization at NUST, as clerics measure the size of beards and trousers (Courtesy: Facebook.com/sabir.nazar.5)

Pakistan's National University of Science & Technology (NUST) has kicked up a storm by enforcing an orthodox dress code for male and female students, which is being perceived as the Talibanization of the campus. As is evident from a notice of the fines imposed by NUST (see the image below), the elite Pakistani institution fined a number of female students 1,000 Pakistani rupees for wearing jeans and 500 rupees for not wearing the dupatta, a long piece of scarf traditionally worn by South Asian girls from chest to shoulder.

Some bloggers have sought to justify the NUST dress code, arguing that the students are studying business management and therefore a formal dress is required of them. However, the controversy arose because of two reasons: one, that such steps to enforce a dress code feed into the Islamic extremism sweeping through Pakistani society; and second, that the names of the female students who were fined were put up on a notice board (in the image below, their names have been blurred). The rector of the Islamabad-based NUST, Engineer Mohammad Asghar, said that in the future names of such students who are fined will not be posted on the campus notice board.[1]

Although NUST officials tried to present the dress code as a norm for business management students, several bloggers have since discovered that NUST did try to enforce an orthodox Islamic dress code, sparking concerns over creeping Talibanization on the campus. Journalist Ikram Junaidi reported: "The NUST issue has become much talked about among the youth of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. They are sending messages on cellular phones to each other and posting their comments on social media networks. A student posted on Twitter: 'There is a separate cafe which boys can go to after 5[PM] and a separate cafe for girls….' Another student Tweeted: "Wow... never had an idea NUST was the Taliban markaz [center]....' One student wrote: 'It's the new pro-rector who is coming up with such awesome rules. It was bearable before.'"[2]

Pakistani Blogger Warns Of Talibanization At NUST: "University Has A Co-Education System… But Now Any Interaction Between Boys And Girls Is Banned… Music, Movies, Video Games, Or Any Such Entertainment Is Strictly Prohibited For NUSTians"

(Courtesy: Tribune.com.pk, September 25, 2013)

A Pakistani blogger who goes by the name of Faran J. warned that NUST officials have the Taliban's mentality in enforcing campus rules:[3]

"It goes unnoticed that every night at 9:30PM, curfew is being declared in an area of 843 sq. acres in the heart of Islamabad, and in case of violation you will be abducted by a van full of gunmen all pointing guns at you, and now-retired army personnel would decide your fate and will also rob you of a handsome amount. That area is NUST H-12 campus. NUST which is Pakistan's top-ranked university and represents Pakistan internationally… has been hijacked by some officials who have the mentality of the Taliban…. The extremist activities were ongoing since long, but with the start of the new academic year it has now became even more torturous. The curfew timings are to be changed from 9:30PM and now it will start at 7:30PM… Hostelites are not allowed to enter after the curfew timings, if they are late due to traffic or some unforeseen reasons.

"The university has a co-education system since the start … but now any interaction between boys and girls is banned. Together as class fellows, in research groups and being friends, how could they not interact with each other? What is non-objectionable before 5PM becomes objectionable after 5PM, while the classes are scheduled up to 8PM. With boys not allowed to visit the cafeteria and girls not allowed to step out of hostels, the university is turning out to be a jail where the prisoners perform their normal activities all the day, and then in the evening they are locked in the barracks… Like prisoners [they] are not allowed to go out without [parole]…; girls are not allowed to leave university campus without 'mehram'…. When parents have allowed their children to go in a co-education system, then why [does] university administration dictate someone's private life?

"Music, movies, video games, or any such entertainment is strictly prohibited for NUSTians, being taken as immoral, thus making life miserable for hostelites. All such websites have long been blocked, just like the Taliban bomb music stores. If some student plays music in his car a platoon of gunmen would appear, making him stop that non-religious activity and will fine him. It reminds me of the students of Lal Masjid [radical mosque and madrassa of Islamabad] who used to do the same on the roads of Islamabad. In such a situation, organizing concerts goes totally out of question. While the world is busy making internet facility available to everyone and promoting use of internet on mobile phones to increase the access to knowledge, NUST administration allows internet facility during limited times, after which internet connections are forcefully closed….

"To make students dress more morally and religiously, the administration has now found it necessary to teach university students how to dress by imposing uniform; for girls it also includes covering their heads with dupattas. Maybe boys will also soon be directed to have beards and have caps on their heads. Beside this Talibanization, NUST is also very poorly managed and burdening the poor. Admissions are opened only once in a year but entry tests are held twice, and from this year they are planning to hold entry tests three times in a year [in order to earn money]…."

Blogger Abdul Majeed: "The Concept Of Individual Liberty, Or The Right To Wear What You Want To Wear Without Getting Judged, Is Non-Existent In Pakistan"; "In My Own Medical School… Teachers Behaved Differently With Students Who Dressed 'Liberally'"

A copy of the dress code issued by NUST officials in September 2013

Pakistani blogger Abdul Majeed published a copy of a September 12, 2013 order (see the above image) by NUST's Director for Student Affairs, which stipulates rules, among other measures, against: "intermixing of girls and boys after sunset i.e. sitting on pavements or on lawns, or walking on roads in mixed pairs or groups…."[4] Abdul Majeed also observed:[5]

"[The issue of the NUST dress code] is just the tip of an iceberg. The concept of individual liberty, or the right to wear what you want to wear without getting judged, is non-existent in Pakistan. While the right to choose does not mean running in the streets naked, as is usually considered, it does mean that within certain limits, everyone irrespective of gender should have the right to wear clothing that they like without getting judged.

"While civilized societies have usually moved beyond this point, Pakistan is still lurking behind. Even in this day and age, women who dress a certain way are judged as being 'immoral' or possessing 'loose character.' The Rector of NUST reportedly said, 'What is wrong with giving you a culturally acceptable dress code?' He also mentioned security as one of the issue that caused increased surveillance 'inside' the campus. What is a culturally acceptable dress when we don't even have a well-defined 'culture?' Hijab and three-piece suits are not part of 'our' culture. If the … rector wants to know what our 'culture' [is], he needs to visit rural areas of Punjab and Sindh, or even cities like Lahore, Karachi, or Rawalpindi. If we go simply by 'cultural dress,' both men and women would all be dressed in Shalwar Kameez [dresses worn by women]...

"I should remind readers that NUST is not the only educational institute with dress code issues. I remember going to [the] Government College University [GCU], Lahore, a couple of years ago to participate in some competition when I was stopped at the gate. The guards informed me that I could not enter the premises because I was wearing jeans. I was flabbergasted. I told them that I was not even a student at GCU and had only arrived to take part in a competition for which I had been invited. I had to call my hosts who ushered me in after some discussion with the guards.

"Most universities in Pakistan do not welcome outsiders, and one has to provide some form of identification for entry. Compare this with foreign universities. I have been fortunate enough to visit major universities in the United States and in Turkey, and no such hassle was present there. I admit that the security situation of Pakistan is much worse than that in other countries but the feeling of 'intellectual freedom' that I felt in those campuses is non-existent in Pakistan. In my own medical school (and reportedly in some others), teachers behaved differently with students who dressed 'liberally' and who were seen with members of the other gender frequently…."

Editorial In Express Tribune Daily: "Our Obsession With What Girls And Women Wear Continues… This Mindset Is A Dangerous One, Feeds Into The Extremism We Are Trying To Combat In [Pakistani] Society"

The dress code ordered by NUST was also criticized by several Pakistani newspapers. In an editorial, the editors of The Express Tribune newspaper wrote:[6]

"Our obsession with what girls and women wear continues. At the prestigious National University of Science and Technology (NUST), up to seven female students have been fined between 500 and 1,000 [Pakistani rupees] for wearing tight jeans, tights, or failing to wear a dupatta. It has also been reported that all women at the university have been asked to wear dupattas. While the issue is being widely discussed on social media, and among young people, the administration at NUST maintains silence with the rector's office denying knowledge of fines and saying only that students have been asked to wear 'decent' clothing on campus.

"The question of what is deemed 'decent' will, of course, vary from individual to individual and the word itself is closely associated with that other term, 'morality', which we brandish so freely. Women have always been a main target of morality squads and we see this happening once again, with students falling victim.

"There is another issue here. Shouldn't the administration at NUST be focusing primarily on imparting quality education? Ensuring the courses are on track and working to help students learn? Surely, how these students perform in the classroom is more significant than what they wear. Our priorities seem to be becoming more and more distorted, and this should be a matter that concerns us all. Academic achievement is in so many ways crucial to our future. The matter of whether jeans are worn is not.

"This is something the administration at NUST needs to very carefully consider, and it needs to recognize that its main role must be to ensure that pupils receive the best possible learning rather than concentrating on their attire or other actions, such as keeping male and female students from interacting. This mindset is a dangerous one, feeds into the extremism we are trying to combat in society, and simply detracts attention from needs that are far more pressing. This should essentially be a matter of personal choice and university-level students certainly need to be granted this most basic of liberties."

Editorial In Dawn Newspaper: "A University Should Have Better Goals Than Monitoring Its Female Students' Clothes"

Stressing that it is not the job of a university to monitor female students' cloths, the liberal daily Dawn observed in an editorial:[7]

"Even in the middle of the death and mayhem that struck Pakistan over the past few days [e.g. the Taliban attack on a church in Peshawar and an earthquake in Baluchistan], the news about the National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, fining students for what they wore, has raised eyebrows. It shocked because dress codes at universities – though they exist in Pakistan and even at some places in the West – are controversial.

"Universities generally are expected to offer far more freedom to students than schools. Partly this is because it is universally accepted that those attending universities are young adults who are about to enter practical life, and secondly, because unlike schools, institutes of higher education are also supposed to encourage original thought. And it is generally accepted that free thought flourishes in the opposite of a regimented lifestyle….

"But sadly, universities in Pakistan do not aim for these goals. And with many managements hiring former military officials because they are seen as effective administrators, universities are focused on regimentation and not on research and higher learning. (NUST too is known to be run by former military men.) This is the message that NUST is sending to the world and to Pakistan. Surely, a university should have better goals than monitoring its female students' clothes. Even if for some inexplicable reason the university management felt the need to regulate what students wear, there is no need to publicly display their names and 'offence.' Such public displays of morality will only lead to bad publicity and strengthen the perception that right-wing views are prevalent in Pakistan. Is this what NUST wants?"