Lahore students protest over Facebook group with derogatory posts attacking women

LAHORE: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) saw on Monday a large number of students staging a sit-in against derogatory and sexist posts online by male students that attacked women on campus. 

One of the most prestigious educational institute in the country, LUMS came under fire after reports circulating revealed that a Facebook group was discovered comprising of over 600 male members that posted explicit and offensive content towards women.

After the online forum was uncovered, circulating videos showed students in large numbers staging a sit-in in front of the university’s office of student affairs demanding for the academia to be turned into a safe space for women.

A collective statement issued by the women behind the case revealed: “A Facebook group of 600 LUMS students, predominantly men, has recently been revealed. The content of the group was derogatory memes, many of which targeted women at LUMS. The memes sexualised and objectified female students in the name of dark humor.”

“Not only this, many memes implied rape. This online forum, that through its humor, encouraged both directly and indirectly acts of violence against women, contributed to the larger culture of misogyny that exists on college campuses in Pakistan,” the statement read further.

“When a group of concerned students went to meet the Dean of Student Affairs on 8th April, they were joined by around 200 students outside the Office of Student Affairs. 5 students represented those sitting outside.”

“It was reiterated that the goal was not to just punish the perpetrators but to channel efforts towards bringing people into a dialogue, creating awareness regarding cyber bullying and cyber sexual harassment and rehabilitating the offenders so that the campus is a more united and safe space for all. The long term recommendations include compulsory workshop and gender sensitivity trainings that discourage and actively attempt to eliminate this behavior,” the statement revealed.

Addressing the issue, the Office of Student Affairs released a statement saying: “LUMS is an institution that cherishes diversity among its student body. We provide an environment where students are encouraged to freely exchange ideas and debate and discuss issues of importance to them, among themselves and with various stakeholders. In this spirit, a group of students along with members of FemSoc (Feminist Society at LUMS) approached the Dean, Office of Student Affairs, regarding a social media page where some students belonging to LUMS were sharing offensive, sexist memes. The students and the Dean had a detailed conversation and agreed that this is an unfortunate episode. However, it can actually help open doors to further the conversation on mutual respect and sensitize the community at large on gender issues. LUMS is proud of its thoughtful students and encourages collective action on such issues. We hope that this event will help further the culture of respect on our campus.”