A video shared on Instagram by the Muslim Student Association (MSA) City Campus has unveiled a gender-segregated practice in a prayer room at the University of Copenhagen. The video, released earlier this week, shows signage indicating that the room is used differently depending on gender. The signs inform users that when marked ‘occupied’, the room is reserved exclusively for women, while a partially occupied sign indicates it is for men.

Islamic studies scholar Thomas Hoffmann has viewed the video and concluded that this practice clearly points to gender segregation. He notes that the important rule highlighted by MSA City Campus serves as an internal code for when the room is separated by gender, despite the university’s guidelines stating that there should be no form of gender segregation.

In an email to the Danish news outlet B.T., MSA City Campus claimed that the prayer room, located at the Faculty of Law, is not managed by them and that it is not segregated by gender. The association describes the signage as a visual indicator simply informing users about the room’s availability. They clarify that the signage is not an official rule but more of an informal custom among students.

This incident follows a previous complaint regarding gender segregation at the university, which the rector, Henrik C. Wegener, dismissed last year as contrary to the university’s principles and values. Wegener emphasized to the newspaper Berlingske that gender-segregated prayer rooms are incompatible with academic freedom.

Faculty Director Martin Sonnefeld Jørgensen has stated that the Faculty of Law’s reflection room is open to all students and should not be used to enforce gender segregation. He insists that the faculty will take the matter seriously to ensure that all students correctly understand the room’s intended purpose.

This incident is not isolated. Last year, MSA City Campus received similar criticism for holding gender-segregated meetings during an event at the university, where men and women sat separately during a debate on the modernization of Islam. The rector’s office also had to intervene and discuss with the organization the importance of not sending the wrong message.

This situation highlights an ongoing issue regarding the use of university facilities, which requires continuous attention and dialogue to ensure inclusive and non-discriminatory practices.