Pakistani medical college asks students to wear hijab and prayer caps on Valentine’s Day

Islamabad, February 13

A medical college in Pakistan’s national capital has issued Valentine’s Day guidelines to its students, asking girls to wear hijab and boys to wear white prayer caps while maintaining a distance of 2 metre from the opposite sex at all times, according to a media report.

On Saturday, Islamabad International Medical College issued a circular forbidding students from participating in Valentine’s Day celebrations and associated “activities which lead the youth towards the wrong path,” the Friday Times newspaper reported.

“All female students should be seen with properly-covered heads, necks and chests with a hijab according to the university dress code. All male students are strictly ordered to wear white prayer caps,” the circular said.

It also warned that members of the college staff would be patrolling the campus to catch students violating these guidelines. Those violating these rules, would be fined PKR 5,000, the report said, quoting the college circular.

The college was established in 1996, and is a medical school affiliated with Riphah International University.

Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day, is celebrated annually on February 14.

It originated as a Christian feast day honouring a Christian martyr named Saint Valentine, and over the years has become a significant cultural celebration of romance across the world.