Nanso condemns gay students for using female toilets at Nust

The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) has condemned some gay students at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) for using female toilets.

This comes after some students raised concerns over alleged incidents involving male students from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex (LGBTQI+) community using female restrooms.

Female students have reportedly expressed discomfort, claiming that the university has yet to address the matter despite it being reported.

Nanso president Dorthea Nangolo says LGBTQI+ male colleagues using female restrooms is not allowed.

“We are aware of the complaints that have been raised by our students. We understand the rights of the LGBTQI+ community but they must abide by the gender rules of the restrooms,” she says.

Nangolo encourages universities to put policies in place to address the issue.

“The law is clear, if someone is a male they must make use of the male toilets and same applies to females, not that we are criticising them, but because anything can happen and the university should speak to these issues,” she says.

Nust spokesperson Cindy-Lee van Wyk says the university is addressing the concerns.

“We take such matters seriously and remain committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment for all members of our university community.

“The university has not received reports on this matter through its internal reporting mechanisms; however, we are actively engaging internal stakeholders to ensure that all concerns are addressed in a timely manner,” she says.

HARASSMENT

According to Equal Namibia co-founder Omar van Reenen, queer people are often bullied and harrassed in male toilets, thus, they feel safer in female toilets.

“We live in a country where queer people are being targeted.

These are just toilets, however, they are usually sexually assaulted, hence why they will feel safer in female restrooms. . . It should be seen as a matter of safety,” Van Reenen says.

Van Reenen says the university needs to construct gender neutral toilets to make everyone feel safe.

“The university should hold consultations with queer students on campus to find out why they feel unsafe using these toilets.”

“In our own homes we don’t care about gender, but now we want to care about it,” Van Reenen says.