KU adviser says guidelines issued to make new students aware of dress code

The University of Karachi’s (KU) notification, issued on January 14, 2025, setting guidelines for students’ attire, has sparked a debate on social media.

The use of the words “provocative, offensive, and distracting” in relation to dressing has raised questions about how these terms are defined and where the boundaries should be drawn. The KU’s notification emphasised the importance of maintaining a respectful and modest appearance on campus.

The notification was released by Dr Nosheen Raza, the Students’ Adviser, and outlines the expectations for the student dress code. According to the notification, students are required to wear clean and modest clothing that demonstrates respect for the academic environment.

The guidelines specifically prohibit attire that is considered provocative, offensive, or distracting. This includes revealing or see-through clothing, shorts, sleeveless or tight-fitting garments, and clothing featuring objectionable language or graphics. Additionally, the use of casual slippers, such as flip-flops, is also banned within the university premises.

Students are expected to adhere to these dress code regulations while on campus. The student adviser mentioned that Karachi University issues notifications regularly related to student discipline. “Karachi University is among the biggest universities in Pakistan; we have more than 45,000 students enrolled.”

Regarding the recent notification, she explained that several new students have joined the varsity as the new academic year has commenced and more are in the pipeline as evening admissions are still underway.

“Therefore, this notification was issued to make the new students aware of the university’s dress code. Even the university’s code mentions that students should wear modest clothes. This a routine notification.”

Commenting on the issue, professor and dean of the Social Science & Education Department at Szabist Dr Riaz Shaikh, said that Pakistani society has developed a habit of social policing. People unnecessarily try to interfere in others’ lives. The actual task of educational institutions and universities is to promote global citizenship and foster tolerance, which is overall declining. Society is moving towards a conservative approach. He asked how the varsity could define “provocative and offensive” attire.

In Pakistan, he said, there was progressive thought in society until the 1960s and early 1970s, but it was deliberately undone. After the 1970s, this was systematically implemented in institutions like Karachi University and other major universities, promoting right-wing ideologies to suppress critical and challenging approaches. Over time, such ideologies started to dominate.

In the early 1960s, universities, even their vice chancellors, were led by people of great stature who did not succumb to such pressures and promoted progressive thought. Even in small cities like Hyderabad, he said, there were progressive women back then. However, the leadership of universities eventually became compromised.

Dr Maroof Bin Rauf, an assistant professor in the Department of Education at the University of Karachi, said that he hasn’t seen the notification yet. However, by dress code, the varsity means attire that aligns with societal norms.

However, on using the word “provocative” dressing in the notification, he said that the student advisor should be better positioned to comment on what constitutes provocative dressing.

Guidelines

The KU administration has issued instructions about a dress code for students, our reporter Syed Muhammad Askari added.

According to a letter from Student Affairs Advisor Assistant Professor Nosheen Raza, all students are expected to maintain respectful appearance and wear clean clothes while on campus that demonstrate respect for the academic environment.

Students are required to dress modestly, avoiding attire that is provocative, offensive, or distracting. The letter states that clothes that reveal the body and short sleeves should not be worn in the university.

Tight clothes, clothes with objectionable prints or graphics should not be worn and students should not wear ordinary slippers. According to Dr Nosheen Raza, these instructions are not new and a notification was issued to guide newly admitted students.