‘No Bra, No Exam’: What Female Students Think of OOU’s Harassment Disguised as Dress Code Policy
In 2022, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ogun State, hit the headlines for denying students entry into the campus for not wearing shoes. Three years later, the school is once again in the news, but this time, for conducting physical checks on female students to determine whether they are wearing bras before allowing them into the examination hall.
In an 11-second video circulating on social media, both male and female students queue at their department while some female staff members of the university feel their breasts. One of them is yanked off the queue.
FIJ learnt that the viral video was captured on Monday, just before the students started their examination.
For some students who spoke with FIJ, the enforcement of the school’s dress code policy, often disguised as instilling the culture of modesty and decency, is nothing but harassment.
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Reacting to an X post of the video on Tuesday, Muizz Olanrewaju Olatunji, the Students’ Union president at OOU, shared a screenshot of the university’s stance on indecent dressing.
“No bra. No entry” is not a new policy in Olabisi Onabanjo University. OOU promotes a dress code policy aimed at maintaining a respectful and distraction-free environment, encouraging students to dress modestly and in line with the institution’s values,” Olatunji wrote.
He added, “And per the video you posted, I was actually expecting your tweet to emphasise the need for alternative enforcement approaches as exam starts yesterday, but guess the agenda is different.”
The SUG president acknowledged the university’s right to promote decent dressing but said he believed there should be better ways to enforce the policy than the method shown in the clip.
On the contrary, some female students feel the dress code policy is insensitive and fails to consider their personal circumstances or comfort. They also said female security officers of the school have been harassing them in that manner for some time. It mostly happens with examinations that are computer-based.
One OOU student told FIJ: “I am not in support of the policy because the majority of us do not like wearing bras. At times, constant wearing of a bra causes you pain in the chest.
“This is a higher institution, not a secondary school, where they feel they can implement any rule just like that without being considerate.”
Some of them, now in their final year, said they have been experiencing the same treatment since their first year, and nothing has changed over the years. “This harassment is not just happening. When I was in Year One or Year Two, I remember how we were asked to line up just like in the video,” s final year student disclosed.
“While on the line, the security woman started pressing our boobs and down there. I felt so disgusted and embarrassed because I was well dressed, and I dressed modestly. Why would you do that to me?
Even if you had to ensure we would not be cheating, you were not supposed to search us that way. Why? Because you are a woman?
“And why on earth would we cheat during CBT exams, which are just for a few minutes. Even if you say you want to cheat with your phone, time would have passed before you typed all the questions.”
READ ALSO: Varsity Bans Indecent Dressing for Students, Staff
Another student said the way the security women sometimes do their bra search can sometimes feel like they are being molested.
“If you are not wearing a bra, you are not going to enter the exam hall. I have seen coursemates get thrown out of the line and meeting up with strangers to borrow their bras so they would be able to enter the hall,” said one undergraduate student.
“It’s not even as if we don’t wear anything to cover up our nakedness. It’s always more like if you don’t wear a bra at all. Some ladies are not comfortable with bras, so they use bralettes. But if the people checking cannot feel that normal bra in your body, they will send you out regardless of whether your clothes fully cover you or not.
“Everybody is trying to get their certificates and get out of this place while all of this is happening. It is very annoying.”
Editor’s Note: FIJ withheld the names of the OOU students who were featured in this story to protect them from retaliation and intimidation.
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