No fire in the belly

This week, a controversy again erupted on social media when a visiting member of the Institute of Business Management, a private educational institution, wrote about her humiliation at the hands of a guard who accused the lady of being improperly dressed.

This resulted in a flurry of posts on social media as others shared their experiences. This is not the first time that IoBM has faced this issue and the bad publicity it brings with it.

As a visiting lecturer at IoBM, one of my students — a bright young lady who has long since graduated and is doing very well in the professional arena — was given similar treatment. When she protested, she was threatened with expulsion.

To be fair to the administration, the problem isn’t the dress code it wants to impose but the manner of implementation. Every institution has the right to set up a dress code. Students who sign up to the school should be aware of this. But its implementation should not lead to humiliation.

After all, to be fair to the students, one of the biggest charms of college and university life is the fact that young men and women can dress as they please (sometimes much to the angst of their parents) and we should not take away from them this hard-earned right. At the same time, as we are taught in journalism, freedom of expression comes with its limitations. And that we have to be aware of.

Of course, our nation has a fascination with regimentation — uniforms and discipline being part of this. Imagine the poor women who study at the Jinnah University for Women. One of my relatives who once taught there told me proudly — the uniform for the Master’s student is blue and for the Bachelors, grey. My sympathies to those who can’t even dress according to their wish even at this stage in their lives.

I recall the funny incident where my teenage son was not allowed to enter the IBA campus, where I teach, because he was in shorts. The guard was most apologetic when he called me and explained. His rationale was that if he allowed my son, possibly IBA students would follow suit and the next thing we would have (God forbid) BBA and MBA students in the same attire. I sympathised.

On a more serious note, I honestly believe that the dress codes in place at most universities are fair and sensible. I am keen that people dress appropriately at a workplace. Students need to know this when they come to classes. And yet another side of me says that we are robbing them of their creativity and independence. We are killing their spark even before it kindled.

The uniform issue surfaces time and again. I recall a similar action at Bahria University where female students were threatened with being rusticated for wearing jeans. And then there are universities like Karachi University and Punjab University where the dress code becomes the responsibility of the student wings of political parties such as the Islami Jamiat Talba. Who can forget the acid thrown on some women students who dared to wear sleeveless kurtas to their classes? This incident happened in the ‘80s but the lesson was learnt.

The issue of dressing on campuses is a symptom of a larger problem. We are still not ready to treat our young men and women as adults. While those who are over 18 can vote and drive in Pakistan, usually their parents decide not only what their careers should be but also their life partners and all their important decisions. Our middle-class values come into play and as a result we are stifling the youth.

Have we transformed our youth into bleating sheep? In most instances, yes. When I teach university level students, what I see is a lack of spirit in many. All they want to do is graduate and move on. For them, university is about classes and nothing else. Few participate in extra-curricular activities other than the meaningless graduation celebrations and picnics. There is no zeal or enthusiasm - no fire in the belly. No one is arguing with their teachers. There is no protest.

I recall a saying that at 20 if you are not a Communist there is a problem and if at 40 you still are, that too is a problem. Are we preparing a generation of robots? It’s a worrisome thought.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2017.

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