On Tuesday, there were reports on social media that a sexual assault allegedly took place on the premises of NUST, and that the administration was trying to silence the victim along with putting pressure on students not to talk about it.
In response to the rape allegations, the official account of NUST in a tweet indicated that these reports were fabricated accusations and that propagating such incorrect news was a horrendous and shameful act. It added that this was an attempt to defame the institution.
The administration’s statement has received criticism for being insensitive. The Women Democratic Front condemned the statement of NUST’s administration regarding the sexual violence and rape allegations that recently came to light.
In a tweet from its account, the WDF stated that it was condemnable that an educational institute released such a statement, calling it absolutely disappointing.
https://twitter.com/wdf_pk/status/1209550886541910016?s=20
Journalist Hamna Zubair stated, “What kind of academic institution spreads the incorrect belief that 'false rape allegations' are the 'most' 'shameless' act, i.e. more shameless than an alleged rape itself?” She added that she was thoroughly disgusted by the tone-deaf statement of NUST’s administration.
https://twitter.com/hamnazubair/status/1209542571170680832?s=20
A user, in reference to NUST’s response, said that this was the reason why Pakistan ranked so low when it came to women rights. She added that the university’s administration was projecting a ‘positive image of Pakistan’ by going on a rant about ‘false’ rape accusations.
https://twitter.com/MavraGhaznavi/status/1209528390434377737?s=20
Another user stated that this response was not coming from a man on the street, but this victim blaming was coming from the university administration.
https://twitter.com/aliza__ansari/status/1209552085072654339?s=20
One user emphasised that NUST was under the belief that false allegations were more horrendous than the possibility of rape itself.
https://twitter.com/jawad_hafsa/status/1209508090812522496?s=20
Development policy expert and founder of Women on Wheels, Salman Sufi, said that it was problematic for any institution or individual to immediately defame the victim instead of presenting themselves for an immediate and thorough investigation.
https://twitter.com/SalmanSufi7/status/1209534093874077696?s=20