UP’s Darul Uloom imposes temporary ban on entry of women, children on its campus citing entrance exams

A notice regarding the ban, put up at the entrance gate of the campus on Sunday, stated that thousands of students from across the world have started arriving at the campus for entrance examinations and the presence of women and children would distract the talib (students).

Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Mahdi Hasan Aini, president of the Darul Uloom alumni body, said the entry of women and children into the campus will be restricted from April 7 to April 17 as the entrance examinations, in which around 20,000 to 25,000 students appear, have started. “There will be a huge crowd at the campus if we allow their families, like mothers or sisters. The presence of a large number of men and women may distract them from the examinations.”

“The ban has been imposed for a limited period and will be lifted after the entrance examinations are over,” said Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, the acting Vice-Chancellor.

Last year, while imposing a similar restriction, the administration had cited concerns that women’s presence on the campus was “distracting students from studies”. The sudden decision led to protests, forcing the managing committee to lift the ban on October 21, 2024. It, however, imposed strict conditions, including that women will be allowed to enter only for two hours and they will have to leave their ID cards at the office, which will issue entry passes. They were also mandated to wear a burqa.

“We were forced to impose a ban for a longer period last year because women started making and uploading social media reels within the seminary and most of them were without veils in it. The trend was not found to be good for the values of the institution. We lifted the ban later after imposing certain conditions,” Madrasi said.