‘mixing men and women together is the ultimate evil and a great danger,’ stated mp muhammad hayef.
however, he did not specify particular places or times for this perceived evil. some individuals attacked him, but those who should be concerned opted to remain silent. mp hayef is not held accountable for his opinions, as he is entitled to adopt what he believes in. personally, i write about certain opinions that may be considered unconventional and not in line with societal values. yet, when the government accepts such opinions, it is the government that bears the blame rather than the originator of the ideas.
academician fatima dashti shared the following with some modifications. “a day prior to the meeting of the parliamentary committee for values enhancement with the ministers of education and higher education and scientific research, among others, i discussed with a friend the anticipated outcome of the meeting, which i believed was already predetermined.
“this was due to the clear guidance from the constitutional court, leaving no room for further explanation as it defined the concept of segregation. however, we were surprised when the minister of education and higher education and scientific research acquiesced to the committee’s request to close the mixed-gender sections at kuwait university (ku), citing a violation of kuwaiti traditions and islamic principles.
“i would like to emphasize certain facts on this matter to ascertain if ku indeed violated national and islamic values. at the outset of my tenure at ku, the sections, specifically lecture rooms, were mixed but also segregated.
“female students would occupy a designated area while their male counterparts occupied another in the same lecture room. this practice persisted from the inception of ku in 1966 until the segregation law was enacted in 1996. the law was a product of political pressure, entangling ku in unrelated disputes. the law failed to account for the substantial costs associated with constructing special facilities for female students. throughout my career at ku, i never witnessed any indecent behaviors violating traditions or islamic values by either male or female students, particularly in seat selection within the lecture rooms or interactions with the opposite gender.
“segregation was instinctively observed due to students’ adherence to traditions and islamic values. even if there were a few violations, imposing a law with exorbitant financial and administrative costs was an unnecessary and impractical solution, especially when coeducation demonstrated compliance with traditions and islamic values.”
“the second issue i want to address pertains to whether ku breached the aforementioned law when it introduced two gender sections. to answer this question, we refer to the constitutional court’s 2015 decision, which clarified that segregation does not imply placing female students in entirely separate rooms and buildings far removed from their male counterparts.
the segregation law did not prescribe a specific form of segregation. the court highlighted that segregation meant both female and male students sharing the same sections, lecture rooms, and buildings, but with specific lines allocated for females and likewise for males. this has consistently been the approach to implementing segregation.
“advocating for complete segregation by assigning separate buildings and lecture rooms for each gender is an excessive demand that adversely affects educational quality. ku carefully considered the burgeoning student population, building capacity, while upholding education standards and preserving traditions and islamic values.
“in terms of the repercussions of the school of law’s response to the ministerial decision to close the mixed-gender sections, student lists that had been meticulously prepared over a considerable period were suddenly nullified. students were required to re-register in a short period before the commencement of the new academic year. the term ‘mixed-gender sections’ may not be accurate, as ‘mixing’ implies a lack of separation, which is not the case in reality within a reputable educational institution like ku, where students and staff uphold islamic values and national traditions.
“colleague abdullatif al duaij posted a tweet, from which i quote a portion: ‘we defeated them in jahra, and they resurfaced in al safat. after decades, and perhaps centuries, where the kuwaiti people defended and sacrificed their lives for openness and peaceful coexistence, these very values are now under attack. this time, however, the enemy – of openness, urbanism, and coexistence – is a part of our own society.’”