Assistant Professor Layeka Bashir of the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) has been expelled following student protests and escalating pressure on the university administration. According to reports, she was first asked to resign abruptly, without any transparent legal or institutional process. After she protested this move, an investigation committee was formed. However, before she was given a proper opportunity to respond, a rally held on campus intensified pressure, and UAP subsequently issued an emergency notice confirming her termination.
Three main allegations have been cited against Layeka Bashir. One concerns her teaching of social history, where she discussed the historical development of belief systems, including how early societies explained natural phenomena through supernatural forces. Such content is foundational to social science education. Treating it as misconduct raises serious questions about the space for academic disciplines within universities.
Another allegation relates to her statement that Islam does not provide equal inheritance rights for women. This distinction—between equality and equity—is widely acknowledged in religious and legal discussions. Framing this academic observation as a punishable offense reflects hostility toward feminist critique and scholarly debate.
She has also been accused of harassing students over the wearing of niqab. Available accounts indicate that her comments focused on audibility in classrooms and identity verification during examinations—practical pedagogical concerns that were reframed as religious discrimination rather than addressed institutionally.
Layeka Bashir has not publicly been allowed to present her defense. Over seventeen years at UAP, she has been actively involved in academic and cultural life, consistently advocating for women’s rights, minority rights, and accountability in cases of sexual harassment.
Her expulsion highlights a broader pattern in which feminist educators are targeted for teaching critically and questioning inequality. When universities respond to pressure by punishing teaching itself, academic freedom is placed at serious risk.
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