Women's varsity shut amid protests

LAHORE:

A top women's university in Lahore was closed on Tuesday ahead of a planned protest by students against alleged incidents of sexual harassment.

The students were protesting against the presence of male teachers in the university and failure of the administration to act against staff members accused of harassment.

According to sources, the Lahore College of Women University (LCWU) sent an SMS to the students at night, informing them that the institution would remain closed because construction work on the premises.

LCWU Vice Chancellor Dr Uzma Qureshi said the university had been "closed today to complete construction work and set SOPs to ensure safety and security of students, faculty and staff. We will investigate the issues and problems for the smooth functioning of the university."

A spokesman said the administration had closed the university for three more days, from October 16 to 18, for the semester break.

A large number of LCWU students had blocked the Jail Road a couple of days earlier while protesting inside and outside the university.

They raised slogans against the administration over the issue of harassment. Students had also accused the vice chancellor of misbehaving with them when asked to take action against sexual harassment.