Female students at Dhaka University (DU) on Monday submitted memorandums to the vice-chancellor demanding relaxed hall curfew rules, easier entry procedures and unrestricted access to women's halls for all enrolled female students.
Resident and non-resident students from different halls gathered in front of the university's administrative building before handing over the memorandums to Vice-Chancellor Prof ABM Obaidul Islam.
Two separate groups submitted memorandums with nearly identical demands.
Their key demands include allowing any legitimately enrolled female student to enter any women's hall upon showing a valid university identity card, easing curfew and exit restrictions at hall gates, and simplifying entry procedures for female guardians visiting resident students.
The first memorandum was submitted around 12:30pm by a newly formed platform, Boishommohin Nari Hall Chai (We Want Discrimination-Free Women's Halls), which was formed on Sunday night by women leaders from different student organizations and groups across the university.
Sanjana Chowdhury Ratri, vice-president of the Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall student union and one of the platform's organizers, said the group was formed following discussions among women student leaders on Sunday night.
She said another meeting involving both male and female student leaders was scheduled for Monday night to discuss the issue further.
Meanwhile, another platform, Dhaka University Nari Shikkharthibrindo (DU Women Students), also submitted a memorandum carrying the same demands. The group had announced its program two days earlier through a post in an internal DU Facebook group.
Addressing the gathering, Nusrat Jahan Jerin, a student of Rokeya Hall from the 2022–23 academic session, said women students had long been subjected to discriminatory and unreasonable hall regulations.
She alleged that students are often denied entry for arriving slightly late at night, while emergency situations—such as sudden illness or the death of a family member—are delayed by lengthy permission procedures before they are allowed to leave the hall.
"Even if our father dies, we still have to write an application by hand and get permission before we can leave," she said. "Even in cases of serious illness, it takes two to three hours. We want these inhumane rules changed."
The protesting students warned that they would announce tougher programs if the university authorities failed to take visible steps to address their demands.