Then it became a blog entry:
May 27, 2018
By Ahsan Zafeer
What Bahria University (click here) did is nothing new in the spectrum, but it is the latest contribution to the already alarming moral policing culture that exists in the country.
“Men and women are to maintain a distance of at least six inches while sitting/standing together.”
Imagine reading this somewhere, or hearing about it. What would your first reaction be?
Perhaps something like, “Oh my God! The Taliban are back! They must have started enforcing their version of Shariah, and are probably planning to bring the days of terror back to the country!
If so, relax! This notice wasn’t issued by those fanatics, but by a renowned semi-government university, and is applicable only within its premises.
It all began when a notice was issued by Bahria University’s (BU) director, requiring male and female students to keep a six-inch distance when sitting or standing near each other. This is not even the worst part though, as the notice also called to enforce a “no touch” policy between male and female students....
Private university or not, this is oppression of women AND men. Pakistan MUST remove all these oppressive rules and allow the dignity of young Pakistanis to prove they are moral and decent people that live to the social standard they love.
These types of oppression invite extremism and remove dignity and diversity on a college campus. College and university campuses are where students are exposed to all kinds of culture and ways of thought. It is good and it is healthy for university students to direct their own social climate. Of course, there are rules ranging from ethics rules to criminal rules, but, such a silly rule invites criminal disaster into a student's social life.
Imagine the most talented student on campus with a very promising career sits next to another student in the library and all of a sudden the future of that student is erased for silly social rules. This is not necessary. Ladies and gentlemen abound in colleges and universities. The best way to address these concerns is through the health office and meetings with educational content about dating dangers.
Pakistan MUST decriminalize all social rules and allow citizens the right to diverse thinking, the education of social dangers in dating and intimacy and paths of choice that encourage career building and a better future.
