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A student kissing ban imposed by the University of Zimbabwe is
"nonsensical", a student representative has told the BBC.
A circular from the university authorities said those "caught in an
intimate position" on the Harare campus would be disciplined.
"In this age to say I'm no longer allowed to kiss or hug someone… is
unreasonable," Tsitsi Mazikana said.
The university has not commented on the students' objections to the ruling.
It was issued at the beginning of the new academic year as part of a
list of "misconducts that attract immediate eviction from halls of
residence".
The University of Zimbabwe circular list 11 "misconducts" that will
result in eviction
The list of 11 points also includes bans on squatters and cooking in bedrooms.
Fourth on the list of behaviour that will result in eviction says:
"Caught in intimate position (kissing or having sex in public
places)".
Ms Mazikana, who is the students' gender representative, said that the
campus already had strict rules for those fraternising with the
opposite sex.
In single-sex hostels, for example, residents were only permitted
visitors in the foyer and no visits were permitted after 22:00, she
said.
Ms Mazikana said the ban had less to do with morality and more to do
with controlling students who were "not happy about the way they are
running the university".
"If they were talking about anything moral they wouldn't be placing
condoms in the hostels and in the clinic, but… kissing and hugging –
there's nothing immoral about that," she told the BBC's Newsday
programme.
The Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) said the university
administration had a habit of instituting arbitrary rules without
consulting student bodies.
The union was organising a petition against the campus kissing ban,
Zinasu's Gift Maposa told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
There were already strict regulations infringing the students' rights
to demonstrate – introduced in 1997 – which instilled a fear of being
expelled, he said.
The BBC's Brian Hungwe in the capital, Harare, says the students often
accuse the university authorities of being out of touch with the
young.
Beer was banned on campus about seven years ago, which proved very
