Says 33 percent membership was of girls

The Aligarh Muslim University has denied charges of gender bias at the varsity library saying 33 percent of the total membership there was that of girls.

In a letter to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, AMU Registrar Nazim Husain Jafri has pointed out that a three-member enquiry committee in its report has underlined that 33 percent of the total membership and attendance in Maulana Azad Library was that of girls.

The letter was sent in reply to a query posed by the HRD Ministry following some complaints by women activists.

The three-member enquiry committee has in its report mentioned that in the academic year 2010-2011, there were 8,266 boys and 3,670 girls, who were registered as bonafide members of the central library.

"It is unfortunate that media reports have created an erroneous impression that there is discrimination against female students at the AMU," AMU spokesperson Rahat Abrar said in a statement issued here.

He said that there were more than 27,000 students at the AMU, and on an average more than 5,000 students visit the library everyday.