Nigeria, Abuja
CNN
–
Nigerian universities are facing backlash after viral videos appeared to show young women waiting for an exam being checked to see if they were wearing a bra before being allowed.
In the short clip that spreads quickly on social media, two women seem to touch a woman’s breasts as they walk down the street. Students at Olabisi Onabnajo University confirmed with CNN that the video was filmed at a school in southwestern Ogun state, Nigeria.
In the video, one female student appears to have been removed from the queue after one of the women touched her.
CNN was unable to confirm when the video was filmed, but the exam that began this week said Oou student representatives who defended the school for what they called “bras, no entry policy.”
The university has not responded to CNN’s request for comment and has not publicly commented on the alleged policies amid widespread outrage over Nigeria’s social media.
Student Union Leader Muizz Olanrewaju Olatunji said in a post on Tuesday in X that bra checks are “not a new policy” for the school, “promoting dress code policies aimed at maintaining a respectful, distracting environment and encouraging students to line up modestly with the value of the facility.”
Olatunji shared some of what he said as school policy. This was described as indicating sensitive body parts, such as “a dressing that can make the same or opposite sex after a student or a dressing that can make the opposite sex.”
Human rights lawyer Inibee Efion described OOU’s bra policy as “Draconian” and “arbitrary” and “may correspond to some form of sexual harassment.”
He told CNN: “Physically examining a student’s body to determine whether he is wearing a bra is not only deteriorating, but also resigning.”
“There may be medical explanations as to why certain students feel uneasy about wearing their bras at certain times,” he said, adding that “to do so without exception or without consideration of specificity is arbitrary and could lead to legal action.”
Student Leader Olatunji said in another post on X Tuesday that discussions are underway with the Oou administration “to explore alternative approaches to addressing obscene dressing, focusing on respectful and dignified interactions between students and staff.”
