Denied accommodation for being Muslim: Blind DU prof tells CM

New Delhi, Jul 24: In a video message to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a visually impaired professor of Delhi University has alleged that she was denied rented accommodation in the national capital on grounds that she is a Muslim.

Reem Shamsudeen, an assistant professor of English in a DU college, has aired her grievances about facing discrimination on basis of religion in a video message, posted on YouTube, to Kejriwal referring to him as "paanch saal Chief Minister".

The video which has clocked over 3,500 views has kickstarted a campaign #Justice4Reem on Social Media.

30-year-old Reem, who hails from Kerala, says in the video, "when I came here (Delhi) last February, the whole state was booming with the promises of AAP about how Delhi is going to change when you become a Chief Minister and how the party is going to deal with many issues including discrimination."

"Here I would like to bring to your notice an instance of discrimination which I had to undergo recently.

After the summer vacation when I joined the college I got a rented flat and paid the advance for my mother and me to move in. "The day when I am supposed to shift in with all my luggage, the landlord denied giving me the key saying that she cannot rent out her flat to a Muslim.

Of course, it was a shocking experience considering Delhi boasts of its cosmopolitan nature all the time," she says sharing that she had never experienced "this level of discrimination" while studying in Hyderabad for eight years.

The professor, further says, "if I have to face this, what about thousands of students who come from various parts of the country? I believe the state you administer, the Delhi you promised, accommodates every other citizen - Bihari, Bengali, Malayali, Manipuri, Kashmiri, Goan, black, white, man, woman, transgender, gay, blind, deaf, homeless... ."

Based on her experience, Reem says she hopes thousands of students moving in from various parts of the country would not have to face similar "shameful and inhuman" experiences and urged the Delhi chief minister to look into the issue. "I urge you our dear 'panch saal' Chief Minister to look into the issue," she says.

PTI