A prayer space for Christian, Buddhist and Hindu women has been created at the Shamsun Nahar Hall for women at the University of Dhaka. They hope that other residences and universities in the country will follow the same example. Many sectors expressed their satisfaction for a “great achievement.” In the room there are images of Christ, Buddha and Hindu deities.
Dhaka () – A university student residence in the capital has opened a prayer room where young women of all religions can pray at the end of their day devoted to books. It was a long-awaited event because a space where all religions could pray inside the residence had been insistently requested for a long time. The Shamsun Nahar Hall – only for female university students – recently opened this room where students belonging to religious minorities (Christians, Buddhists and Hindus) can meet and pray.
It is only the first step, because the opening of prayer spaces for members of all religions in other institutions and buildings is already being considered. Meanwhile, the satisfaction expressed by many remains for this inauguration -although late, given the repeated and pressing requests- within the residence that depends on the University of Dhaka.
Professor Lafifa Jamal, director of Shamsun Nahar Hall, stressed that the permanent board of directors has taken into account the needs “of students from religious minorities”, because the university is an open place “where students of all religions have the equal rights”. The professor considers that the decision made by the female residence is “excellent” and added: “We hope that other educational institutions will follow the University of Dhaka in this regard.”
Now young Hindus, Buddhists and Christians can pray in a space dedicated to them and for those who in the past could not count on this benefit, it is a “huge achievement”. Muslim students have at their disposal numerous mosques within the universities, but until now nothing has been done for young people of other religions, in consideration of equal rights.
Speaking to Nilima Roy, a Hindu student enrolled at the University of Dhaka, said that “all the faithful of all religions must be respected”. “I thank the authorities,” he continued, “for opening the prayer room and I hope that other universities do the same.” Christian Sujana Gomes, from the same university, said that this is a “great achievement” because in the past many other students “have not had the same opportunity”, while now “the young women of three different religions can pray to the same Creator in the same space”, in a rare “example of confessional harmony”.
Images (in the photos) of Jesus Christ, some Hindu deities and Gautama Buddha were placed in the room. In Bangladesh, a country with 162 million inhabitants, more than 90% profess the Muslim faith, another 8% are Hindus and the rest are Buddhists and Christians.
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