Pregnant, Married Students Barred From Halls: Legal Notice Served On JnU

A legal notice has been sent to the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Proctor and Hall Provost of the Jagannath University (JnU) stating that the order to the married and pregnant students staying in the Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall immediately vacate the hall is a 'discriminatory provision'.

Today Wednesday (September 27), Supreme Court lawyer Md Solaiman Tushar sent this notice by post and e-mail.

In the legal notice, the lawyer said, through the news published in the media recently, a notice has been given that the female students of Jagannath University will not get residential seats in Begum Fazilatunnessa Mujib Hall  if the student is married or pregnant. As per Section 17 of Residency and Living Conditions and Conduct and Discipline Rules-2021 married and pregnant students will not get residential seats. Because of this, married or pregnanrt students will have to leave the seat in the hall very soon. Otherwise, necessary action will be taken against them, a notice has been issued in this regard on September 25.

He also said that as a result of the provision, practically married and pregnant students will be deprived of the opportunity to acquire higher education by taking the residential facilities of the hall. There has been serious dissatisfaction and anger among the female students regarding this issue. The existence of such discriminatory provision in a public university of the country is being reported seriously in the print and electronic media.

In the notice, Solaiman Tushar said, according to Article 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, all citizens are equal under the law and according to Article 28 (1) (2), the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion, caste, caste, gender or any other place. Men and women will get equal rights in state and public life. Such a rule for married and pregnant students is a hindrance to women's access to higher education and is in complete violation of Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution of Bangladesh.

The administration shall take necessary steps to repeal the discriminatory provision against women students within five working days of receiving the notice. Otherwise I will be forced to resort to the High Court, He said in the notice.

In this regard, lawyer Solaiman Tushar said, "I sent this notice on my own after seeing the news in the media, not in view of anyone's complaint." If the rules of the university are anything like this then it is in direct conflict with those rules as per Article 27, 28 (1) (2) of the Constitution of Bangladesh. And any law or regulation in conflict with the constitution is nullified.

Hall Provost Professor Dr. Deepika Rani Sarkar said, I have not received the notice yet. And the notice given by the hall is in the rules, I did not do anything outside of it. I gave time to those who are married or pregnant but did not understand why legal notice should be given. Those who are married will be notified again. And this matter was done by someone from among us. i will find out who it was.

It is to be noted that through a notice on September 25, the administration of the hall ordered the married and pregnant students staying in 'Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall' to leave the hall immediately. At the same time, the resident students, whose Masters results have been declared, have also been ordered to leave the hall. Discussions and criticisms and extreme debates have been created among the students.