Islamabad girls hostels face safety and regulation concerns

Islamabad: Questions have been raised over the safety of girls living in private hostels after parliamentarians were told about the death of a female student in an Islamabad hostel and warned that private accommodation for students and working women is operating without proper regulation.

During a meeting of the Women Parliamentary Caucus, a participant described the case of a student from Mansehra who had come to Islamabad to study at Quaid-e-Azam University. According to the account given at the meeting, the student went out at night and encountered an alleged thief. The man became frightened and fired a gun, hitting the student.

People at the hostel reportedly asked the warden to take the injured girl to the hospital, but according to the participant, the warden refused because it was a police case. The participant said the student suffered heavy bleeding and died.

She said the case strengthened the need for strict rules for private hostels. The meeting was told that private girls’ hostels in Islamabad had grown rapidly while proper regulation remained missing.

Participants raised concerns about security, drugs, narcotics, sexual abuse and the absence of proper checks on people entering and leaving such accommodation. One participant noted that private hostel regulation had not yet been properly established and called for a comprehensive plan of action.

Members said the issue was no longer only a concern for parents but had become a wider public safety problem. The meeting was also told that there were around 500 hostels in Islamabad, according to information discussed by participants.

Members said the shortage of suitable government accommodation was forcing many female students and working women to depend on private hostels. They called for a government policy to provide more rooms and safe accommodation for women coming to Islamabad for education and employment.

The Women Parliamentary Caucus later formally called for safe, affordable and accessible hostels for female students and working women, particularly those coming from remote and underserved areas. Members warned that a shortage of secure accommodation could prevent girls from pursuing higher education, professional training, and employment.

They called for legislation and a clear policy covering the establishment, regulation and management of girls’ hostels. The National Commission on the Status of Women also raised concerns about houses and individual rooms being rented to women without clear security arrangements.

Its representative suggested that CDA officials should be included in discussions about hostel regulation. She suggested the CDA should develop rules for residential properties used as working women’s or girls’ hostels.

Security requirements, including arrangements around entrances, exits, balconies and night time safety, were among the issues discussed. The representative said houses and even individual rooms were being rented to women without proper security checks.

Another participant said parents sometimes make major financial sacrifices to send daughters to cities such as Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar for education. She said some families sell property, livestock and other assets to support their daughters.

However, once the girls move into private hostels or rented rooms, parents may have little information about security, the environment around the building or possible risks. She called for legislation and stronger government rules to protect female students.

The meeting discussed another controversial question when one participant raised concerns about women leaving hostels at night wearing night suits, short shirts and trousers. She described approaching some young women outside a university area and asking them to cover up.

She also called for stronger hostel discipline and rules similar to those she remembered from university life, including fixed hostel timings and restrictions on visitors. She argued that the government’s proper role was ensuring security.

She suggested clear security requirements for landlords and hostel operators rather than restrictions on women’s clothing. She suggested that anyone renting a room to female students should have to follow proper safety rules.

Members also raised questions about government run hostels that were no longer providing accommodation. The meeting was told that some women’s hostel facilities had remained dormant or were undergoing construction and renovation.

Participants said women living in two functional hostels had been asked to leave when construction work began. According to the discussion, those facilities had still not returned to normal operation.

One participant said the situation had effectively reduced available functional accommodation instead of increasing it. The former Nusrat working women’s hostel was also discussed.

The meeting was told that the facility had remained dormant for a long period and had earlier been under the Ministry of Human Rights. Participants discussed how different government buildings originally intended for women had either remained unused, changed purpose or become tied up in renovation and administrative arrangements.

She suggested that the unused structure could be converted into a hostel, particularly for women, rather than remaining empty and deteriorating. The discussion also revealed concerns about the previous management of hostel buildings.

One participant said that during an earlier period, rules at one hostel were not properly followed. She claimed that maids, offices and families were also present inside the hostel premises. Members said such experiences showed the need for strict standard operating procedures and regular monitoring of hostel buildings.

The government was urged to avoid depending only on inspections after problems occur. Members said permanent rules should cover security, management and the use of hostel premises.

The caucus was also told that funding had been allocated for a working women’s hostel and that the project was expected to move forward. However, members said Parliament should still ask how many hostels Islamabad actually needs, when planned facilities will become operational and how many women currently lack secure accommodation.

The caucus proposed using public private partnership arrangements to build new girls hostels and expand existing accommodation. It also called for renovating and improving existing government facilities so female students and working women could have safe, clean and dignified places to live.

The hostel issue has now become a wider question of women’s access to education and employment. Members said many universities do not provide enough hostel space, leaving students to rent rooms, share flats or move into private hostels with limited security.

Some groups of four or five students were said to be sharing flats because they could not find suitable hostel accommodation. Members warned that this also creates security concerns and increases financial pressure on parents.

The Women Parliamentary Caucus wants new legislation, CDA security rules, more government accommodation and stronger regulation of private hostel operators.