{"id":5608,"date":"2019-03-04T06:08:14","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T06:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/?p=5608"},"modified":"2021-10-01T06:09:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T06:09:17","slug":"dress-codes-infringe-on-right-to-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/dress-codes-infringe-on-right-to-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"Dress codes infringe on right to choose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dress codes infringe on right to choose<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lahore<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>4 March 2019<\/em>. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has criticised the notification issued by the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore, imposing a \u2018dress code\u2019 on its students that makes it compulsory, among other things, for women to wear a scarf or\u00a0dupatta<\/em>, and bars students from attending class if they do not conform to the dress code. In a statement issued today, HRCP has said that \u2018Freedom of choice lies at the heart of human rights. Imposing a dress code that clearly projects a regressive notion of what women \u201cshould\u201d wear in public is needless and absurd.<\/p>\n

\u2018Universities are meant as institutions of higher learning and as places that enable students to think for themselves. The UET notification infringes on what is a fundamental democratic right \u2013 the right to choose. Moreover, to suggest \u2013 as the university\u2019s administration is reported to have done \u2013 that students from remote areas do not know \u201chow to dress\u201d is patronising and does not justify the imposition of an archaic dress code for women or men. People\u2019s right to receive an education must not be hampered by so small a consideration as what they choose to wear.<\/p>\n

Dr Mehdi Hasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chairperson<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>