Jamia Protest: How Women Students Organised and Won Elections Timeline After 18-Day Agitation

Jamia Protest

Students at Jamia Millia Islamia have secured a breakthrough after an 18-day agitation, with the university setting a timeline for elections by July 2027. The movement for the restoration of the long-defunct students’ union was heavily organised and sustained by women students amid a campus shutdown and prohibitory orders.

On October 27 at 4 pm near the central canteen, Nausheen Farooq prepared to address the media while her friends planned and adjusted her microphone. Nearby, Haneena Bint Omar walked from the Geography Department to the Political Science building carrying water gallons and food packets to be passed over the spiked boundary wall. Another student, Rida Naushad Khan, undertook an eight-day hunger strike as part of the core group of seven fasters.

Key Points Of The Jamia Protest

• Students at Jamia Millia Islamia agitated for 18 days demanding the restoration of the students’ union.
• The university announced a timeline for elections by July 2027.
• Rida Naushad Khan fasted for eight days as one of seven students on a hunger strike.
• Women students organised the agitation, addressing issues such as entry deadlines, campus infrastructure, and alleged admission malpractices.

Why Women Students Organised The Agitation

Nausheen Farooq, a second-year MA student in Disaster Management from Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said the protest arose suddenly from a lack of representation. She pointed to concerns including the 10 pm entry deadline for women, poor hygiene, bad rooms and washrooms, and poor food quality.

“When I came here, I saw there was no union,” she said. “Then I saw the problems students face: the alleged saffronisation of the university, the issues girls face… If there is a union, there will be a representative from our side. We won’t be having these problems.”

Haneena Bint Omar, a third-year law student from Thrissur in Kerala, joined the protest over issues including alleged malpractice in admissions. Both Haneena and Nausheen had previously participated in the Cockroach Janta Party’s October 10 protest against irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision and were detained in Shalimar Bagh.

The Hunger Strike And The University Shutdown

Rida Naushad Khan, a final-year MA student in Public Administration from Lucknow, was the only woman among the seven students who went on a hunger strike. She fasted for eight days before breaking her fast to return to Lucknow after her mother fell ill.

Rida described the university shutdown as terrifying due to heavy police deployment, the closure of the library and canteen, and alleged attempts to block access to the women’s washroom and sleeping space. Despite these conditions, she stated she had no political affiliation and maintained faith in the authorities.

“For nearly two decades, Jamia has denied us our most fundamental democratic right: an elected students’ union,” she said. “Sitting on a hunger strike was not a choice born of impulse but of necessity.”

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Jamia Millia Islamia student union elections be held?

The university set a timeline for Jamia Millia Islamia student union elections by July 2027 following an 18-day student agitation.

Who went on a hunger strike during the Jamia protest?

Rida Naushad Khan was the only woman among seven Jamia Millia Islamia students who undertook an eight-day hunger strike during the agitation.

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