KARACHI: As the case pertaining to the mysterious death of Nimrita Chandani, a final-year BDS student of Larkana, remained unsolved despite the passage of two months, civil society and rights activists said that she was subjected to criminal assault and demanded that her killers be arrested forthwith.

Nimrita was studying in the Bibi Aseefa Dental College, Larkana, and was found dead in her hostel room in September.

At a protest demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club, dozens of activists holding placards and chanting slogans demanded removal of the college head.

The protest was jointly organised by the Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) and Young Workers Committee.

The protesters questioned the role of the Sindh government for failing to handle the harassment of working women and female students at workplaces and educational institutions.

“In Sindh and other provinces, the ugly incidents of harassment of female students in educational institutions and women workers at workplaces are increasing with every passing day,” HBWWF general secretary Zehra Khan told protesters. “It is a great tragedy that the higher administration of the Sindh government-run medical university in Larkana had dubbed the rape and murder of medical student Nimrita as a suicide. The administration instead of stopping such incidents often tries to hush up these matters or give them some other colour so that actual culprits go scot-free.”

National Trade Union Federation general secretary Nasir Mansoor said that sexual harassment cases in educational institutions were rising and it was becoming difficult for female students to get education.

He said this trend would further promote reactionary ideology and religious extremism in our society. He said if sexual harassment continued in educational institutions, more and more parents would find it very difficult to send their daughters to colleges and universities.

The demonstration was also addressed by Young Workers Committee leader Shah Faisal, who said that in Pakistan, mainly in Sindh, the security forces were deployed in universities in the name of security, but still cases of sexual harassment of female students were reported there, which remained a serious concern.

The protesters demanded that urgent notice be taken of harassment and torture of female students and actual culprits be punished after free and fair investigation.

They also called for steps to prevent sexual harassment cases in future.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2019