MAKKAH, 19 November 2006 — The plight of female students who live at dormitories run by Makkah’s Umm Al-Qura University has remained miserably the same, two years after a complaint was lodged with the authorities about poor facilities and the bullish tendencies of supervisors there.
Many of the students complain of bad living conditions and the inhumane treatment they receive from supervisors at the dormitories, which they say psychologically affects them. Speaking on condition of anonymity, some of these girls told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication Arab News, that they are living in prison-like conditions.
Although the students have recently moved to a new building, it is very uncomfortable. “There are periodic inspections that target everything including our personal stuff,” complained one of the students, adding that supervisors will confiscate all kinds of things which they consider unsuitable. This includes certain items of clothing, Walkmans and cell phones that have inbuilt cameras and Bluetooth technology. “We are not allowed to go out even to the Grand Mosque. Moreover, there is no entertainment whatsoever,” she added.
One student complained about the Internet ban at the dormitories. “What is totally annoying is that we are banned from using the Internet. This may even cause some students, especially those that are on computer or Internet-related ones, to fail in their courses.”
Lack of buses was a source of big problem for others. “There are only two buses and we have to share them with outdoor students. These buses take us from the dormitories to the university,” she said, adding, “We are cramped and clustered in the buses in order to be on time. These conditions make some students to miss classes. This is something that affects students’ final grades.”
Some of the girls have lost faith in the authorities. “We do not trust the authorities any more; they never listen to our complaints. A while ago when we contacted the media about the lack of water, which would last two or three days, the problem was smoothly solved,” said one student.
“The committee do not deal with us as mature young women who have left their homes and villages to obtain education,” she said. “We are overloaded with their harsh decisions which negatively affect our studies.”
In charge of students’ residential area is Dr. Salih Al-Mabooth. Initially, he refused to comment unless he received the names of the complainants. Later, however, he agreed to speak.
“We have never received any complaints from students who live in the Al-Nuzha building. The students are exaggerating. There are three buses that can each carry 25 students and since there are only 60 students in the resident this means that every student has a seat leaving 15 empty places. The outdoor students have some 13 separate buses.”
A student later revealed that the three buses are shared among five other dormitories located across the holy city.
Reacting to the complaint about the Internet, Al-Mabooth said, “It is not true that students are totally banned from using the Internet. The only thing is that they need to register their computers on the system and use the Internet on the assigned times.”
Regarding the inspection of possessions and clothes, Al-Mabooth said that every student is asked to sign a paper on enrollment in which they agree not to bring “forbidden” items into the dormitories. “These are strict rules and are not left to the discretion of supervisors. We insist on carrying out inspections and confiscating everything that is not allowed,” he added.
Al-Mabooth said he regularly comes to check on the welfare of students. “We have a complaint-and-suggestion box but we hardly receive any letters. I check the box myself,” he said.
Finally, he said that he does not allow supervisors to insult students. “Supervisors are urged to deal with students as mothers do and to be genuinely concerned about the problems that students have to face,” he added.
