To:
Professor Joan Cooper,
members of the academic board and
other distinguished academics.
I am writing regarding the concerns I have about the space available
for Muslims students on campus to perform their obligatory Friday
prayer. As of the 13th of November 2009, the Islamic Society on Campus
was informed that they no longer had access to level 1 of the
Squarehouse and will be given an alternative prayer space in the Sam
Cracknell Pavilion. However this particular location will not
accommodate for the 500 + students that attend the obligatory
congregational prayer, as it has a capacity of only 120 people. What
action has the university taken to rectify this issue? What
alternative venue has been provided to the Muslim population on
campus? As I am aware, NONE. This has resulted in students and staff
praying in the hallways and kitchen, which is unsafe and I am sure
does not meet OH&S guidelines. Yet again the university has not taken
any action to help rectify the issue.
Furthermore as a Muslim female student on campus, I feel as though my
basic needs are not being met. Firstly the washroom facilities are
inadequate with only one proper wash basin and another 2 regular
basins. This is to be used by both Muslim and non-Muslim staff and
students, all of which use the Squarehouse for classes and extra
curricular activities. As a result the floor can get quite wet and
slippery, with the potential to cause a major accident, again not
meeting the OH&S guidelines. What steps has the university taken to
ensure the safety of its staff and students? How fair is this that the
men have a much larger area to perform their ablution while females
have such a small area which threatens their health and safety, where
is the equality?
It also concerns me that I am restricted from attending the Obligatory
Friday Prayer as there is insufficient space for the men, so what
space is left for the woman? Has the university taken this into
consideration when providing the Islamic Society on Campus a venue to
pray at? Or are woman completely disregarded? Friday prayer services
are not only significant to males, moreover, important for females as
well. I attempt to strive to fulfil all aspects of my religion,
nonetheless am met by barriers such as limited prayer space, all of
which can be fixed by the university.
With such a high population of Muslim students on campus, you’d think
that UNSW would have state of the art prayer and washroom facilities
for its students, but sadly it doesn’t. As a result of these issues I
don’t feel the need to encourage future female Muslim students to
attend this university when they will be encounter such inequality in
prayer and wudu facilities.
I look forward to hearing from you, hopefully with a positive response
to the above mentioned issues.
Kind Regards,
------------------
Sandra,
I thought that i would bring to your attention an issue that has been
plaguing my mind for quite some time. I have emailed other figures
within the university, nonetheless, have not received a response.
I find the issue of insufficient prayer space appalling. We come to
university in order to empower ourselves and step out into the world
and make a change in society. However if we cannot do this in the
realm of UNSW and if we cannot exercise our right to pratice our
education. Although Madina college and Friday Payer space are 2
different issues from the perspective of the university, each issue
eliminates the other.
UNSW has failed me as an instituition and I sincerely hope that this
cycle does not continue to impede on the edcucation of others at the
university.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Kind Regards





