Today is Valentine's Day and lovers across the globe are celebrating this day with their partners. But in Pakistan the scenario is a little different. The Islamabad International Medical College in Pakistan's capital has issued guidelines for their students for the Valentine's Day.
On one hand, while girls have been asked to wear hijab, the male students have been asked to wear white prayer caps while maintaining a distance of two metres from the opposite sex at all times, a Pakistani newsweekly reported.
For this, the college has issued a circular, forbidding students from partaking in Valentine's Day and associated activities. The circular reads that taking part in such activities could lead the youth towards the wrong path, the newspaper quoted.
"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 protocol states. The circular also comes with a warning.
It warns that twenty staff from the school administration will be patrolling the campus to catch Valentine's Day violations. Those caught breaking the rules will be fined PKR 5,000, which will be donated to a worthy cause, the report said.
The circular has sparked off a debate on Twitter with some being highly critical of the decision, while some otbhers supporting the college's guidelines. "This is weird. If someone wants to not celebrate Valentine's (because) they're a Muslim, more power to them, but everyone practices their religion differently and imposing (your) beliefs on someone else is pure wrong," read one post.
