‘Would it be the same outrage had the student who proposed been a man?’ questions Shaniera Akram

The expulsion of two university students in Lahore over a public proposal has created an uproar on social media with users criticising the university administration for the shallow-minded approach.

Shaniera Akram, who is very vocal about her opinions, expressed her outrage on the matter on social media, saying: “Let’s talk about it? Why are we all upset?”

“Is it the PDA? The proposal on university grounds?,” she questioned, adding: “Or the fact that a woman did it? Would it be the same outrage had the student who proposed [been] a man?”

Shaniera also questioned why celebrities and sports stars are allowed to propose, show affection or date in public, but not the youth.

“We just celebrated International Women’s Day and here we are with a top university expelling a young woman for having the confidence and empowerment to ask a man to marry her amongst the security of her peers,” commented Akram further.

“What kind of example are we setting here?” she added.

“Apply all the rules you want but you can’t expel love,” she asserted.

The University of Lahore, on Friday, allegedly expelled two students for publicly expressing their love and proposing on university grounds. In a video that went viral on social media, a girl could be seen getting down on one knee and asking her partner to marry him with a bouquet of roses. The proposal ended with the two hugging each other.

According to a notification, dated March 12, the two students were expelled for “[being] involved in gross misconduct and violation of university rules and were called to appear before the special disciplinary committee [but] failed to appear.”