Our universities and their penchant for moral policing

Universities serve as venues for character development and fostering students' critical thinking skills. They prepare pupils for life outside academic institutions. The environment of several of our university campuses, however, is not conducive to this. 

The university's need to set restrictions that perpetuate the ethos of moral policing is saddening. Our already traditional patriarchal society is bolstered by moral policing, which hinders the development of a dynamic academic culture. 

M.K Gandhi said "Live and let live"- but at present, we can see the opposite scenario in most of our universities in Bangladesh.

Moral policing could be defined as "the constriction of my rights and the pressure of your moral guidelines in order to confirm my behaviour to your standards of "acceptable conduct" through the use of unlawful or violent tactics." 

On the other hand, moral policing can also be defined as "working forward into a better future by striving to stop the degradation of values, morals, and ethics for the larger benefit of society, frequently (reluctantly) employing forceful and persuasive measures."

Which of the two definitions above is correct? If you've ever been on the receiving end, you would promote the first description; if you are motivated by a desire to aid society through the implementation of small but strict standards, you would staunchly support the second definition. Amusingly, both parties believe that they are correct and that "their truth" is indeed "the truth."

Unfortunately, even at the university level, students can't afford to discuss personal freedom and free will. Within universities, there remains a significant number of people that judge the morals and values of others, and spending so much time policing others alters the capability to think rationally and realistically. 

Teachers expect students to behave in a particular manner and only respect pupils who match a particular stereotype. They have distinct conceptions of "normal behaviour" for boys and girls, and what is deemed acceptable for male students quickly becomes "delinquent" for females.

The students are monitored for the clothing they wear, questioned about their relationships with the opposite sex, and instructed directly or indirectly to maintain certain restrictions. In addition, they are constantly threatened with expulsion if they do not comply with the exhaustive number of restrictions that have been imposed upon them.

If the teachers constantly treat the students differently for their natural behaviour, they start doubting themselves and fearing that their education might be stopped midway if they don't comply. Teachers' personal biases are dismantling the safe spaces that universities are meant to be.

This also fuels the patriarchal culture by setting up certain standards specifically for female students. Female students often are subjected to moral policing for conversing with male peers. These propagate the notion of objectifying the female as a whole. 

As a result, a woman's mind is infiltrated by the harshly divided categories of "good" and "bad" character, which create barriers to true friendship. Creating gender stereotypes on campuses by moral policing will only contribute to our already prevalent culture of intolerance, and should be done away with immediately.

Universities are places where we are supposed to learn how to challenge the system, not where our growth is hampered. However, by allying with a system that traumatises us, we are sidelining the very essence of empowerment. Such rules actively discourage students from expressing their individuality, instead rewarding them for conforming to random, restrictive rules.

It's very tiring to live with the constant fear of punishment for breaking one of their arbitrary rules about what defines right and wrong. Everyone has the right to give their opinion on what's right and wrong but it becomes unacceptable when this is forced upon others. 

Allow adults to make their own decisions, if they are not allowed to express themselves freely in the university, they'll simply go underground. Everything that has been severely suppressed in the past has surged dramatically. No one has the right to prevent others from engaging in lawful activity. 

John Adams once said - "I must study politics and war so that my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and engineering. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." 

Instead of cowering in fear of sullying the so-called honour or worrying about what other people would say and think, it's time we made the changes necessary to develop and break this moral policing culture in universities.

Mumtahena Ferdousy is a LL.M. student at Khulna University.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.