Umama Fatema apologises for unauthorised Rokeya hall entry, rejects 'late-night campaigning' claims
Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) polls candidate Umama Fatema has apologised over unauthorised entry into Rokeya Hall, but rejected claims that she was involved in "late-night election campaigning."
In a Facebook post today, Umama admitted she had entered the hall, where she is not a resident, before the 10:00pm closing time to meet a friend.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. She dismissed rumours that she entered the hall at 1:30am as "false and intentionally spread to malign me ahead of the election."
Umama said she did not engage in any electoral activity inside Rokeya Hall and acknowledged her procedural mistake.
She added that she had met the hall provost in person and submitted a written explanation of the incident, also sharing a photo of her application on Facebook.
Calling this "targeted harassment," she said she was being "deliberately portrayed as a wrongdoer and put on trial on Facebook" as the polls approached.
She also raised a broader concern about restrictions on female students visiting halls other than their own.
"Even though it was irregular, girls from one hall frequently visited other halls. This normal behaviour is being criminalised, restricting women's freedom of movement," she wrote.
Referring to rules introduced after the 2019 Ducsu elections, Umama noted that the system was not maintained once the Ducsu term ended.
She said if elected, she would work to ensure that women students could move between halls without obstruction.
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