Earlier this month, an unnamed law student at the University of Algiers was refused entrance to an exam.
According to reports, she was not allowed to sit the exam because her skirt came above her knees.
Buzzfeed reports that the Law Faculty at the college said that sitting exams requires “a decent outfit”.
Mohamed Tahar Hadjar, dean of the law faculty, spoke to TSA ALgérie about the incident saying: “Wearing a short skirt is not authorised inside the university.
“It’s their job to uphold the rules of the faculty … it requires a decent outfit, for both girls and boys”.
Responding to the decision, a student at the university, Sophia Jama, has since set up a Facebook group entitled “my dignity is not the length of my skirt”.
Speaking to France 24, Sophia said: “A woman’s body has become a battle field in Algeria. If we keep silent, we women will lose a lot from our gains, regarding our freedom in public places.”
She added that she set up the Facebook group in solidarity with the student in question, so that she “wouldn’t feel alone”.
