The Dhaka University (DU) Provost Standing Committee has recommended extending the entry time for the university’s women’s residential halls by one hour, with the proposal now set to go before the Syndicate for final approval.
Israfil Ratan, member secretary of the committee and DU proctor, confirmed the recommendation to Dhaka Tribune. He said the issue had been discussed at the committee level and a one-hour extension had been recommended.
However, Ratan stressed that the committee’s recommendation was not a final decision.
“It’s not a decision; it’s a recommendation,” he said, adding that the Syndicate, the university’s highest policy-making body, would determine whether the entry time would be extended by one hour, two hours or whether fixed entry hours would be scrapped altogether.
The recommendation comes after weeks of protests and demands from three female student platforms, Boishommohin Nari Hall Chai, Nari Hall Songskar Andolon and Oborodhbashini, seeking reforms to the entry rules at DU’s five women’s halls.
The groups, despite political differences, have called for extended or unrestricted hall entry hours, access to attached halls for legally enrolled non-resident students, and permission for female relatives of resident students to visit and stay overnight.
Boishommohin Nari Hall Chai, which has a Chhatra Dal majority, and left-leaning Oborodhbashini have demanded that hall gates remain open around the clock. Nari Hall Songskar Andolon, dominated by Chhatra Shakti, has called for extended entry hours and a system allowing students to enter after gate-closing by showing their IDs and signing in.
The campaign intensified in late July and early August. Boishommohin Nari Hall Chai submitted a memorandum on July 27, while Oborodhbashini staged a graffiti protest at the gates of five women’s halls on July 31 before issuing a 48-hour ultimatum in early August.
Meanwhile, the number of students signing Nari Hall Songskar Andolon’s memorandum rose from around 500 to more than 2,000 as the group awaited a meeting with the vice-chancellor.
Leaders of the platforms have cited incidents in which the existing entry restrictions allegedly caused difficulties for students and their families. They referred to a Rokeya Hall student who struggled to leave the hall for emergency treatment of an ear injury and a Sufia Kamal Hall student whose mother was reportedly turned away while attempting to care for her daughter, who had a fever during final examinations.