London School of Economics Islamic Society holds segregated dinner with a curtain across the room to separate male and female students

The Islamic society at a top university has come under fire for holding a gala dinner where men and women were segregated from one another by a screen running down the middle of the room.

Muslim students from the London School of Economics had to buy separate tickets to the society’s annual dinner depending on whether they were a ‘brother’ or a ‘sister’.

When they turned up at the event, held at a banqueting hall in Central London, there was a large screen separating the men’s tables from the women’s ones, stopping the attendees from even looking at each other.

Tickets to the Islamic society dinner at Grand Connaught Rooms, near the university in Holborn, sold out after being advertised online for £20 each.

At the dinner on Sunday night, each table was either male-only or female-only, and a 7ft screen divided the two groups of tables from one another. Photographs taken at the event and posted online by the society showed only the men’s side, with the all-male crowd laughing and smiling for the camera.

One attendee even made a joke of the segregation, posting a picture of himself peering round the screen to talk to a female friend with the caption, ‘Hello from the brothers side’ – a reference to Adele’s hit Hello.

Nona Buckley-Irvine, the head of LSE’s student union and a self-professed feminist, attended the dinner and insisted that the atmosphere was ‘comfortable and relaxed’ despite the gender divide.

‘I had a lovely time at the dinner and barely noticed the separation between men and women,’ she told MailOnline. ‘The event was hosted by both the brothers and sisters and I welcomed the opportunity to dine with my colleagues and friends in an environment that felt comfortable and relaxed.’

She added: ‘Where groups would like to organise themselves in a way that fits with their religious, cultural and personal beliefs, both genders consent, and there is no issue I have no problem. It is not for me to decide what is right or wrong with our Islamic society and they are one of the most inclusive societies I have ever worked with.’

However, other students have spoken out against the segregation – saying it has ‘intimidated’ some Muslims who want to celebrate their faith without the strict gender divide

‘It’s been going on for quite a while,’ one LSE undergraduate said. ‘I don’t think it’s ever been brought to the university’s attention. I have a friend who says she’s really intimidated because she doesn’t believe in gender segregation at all so she stopped going.’

The Islamic society did not respond to a request for comment on the controversy

The segregated dinner at LSE could be a violation of the university’s policy on gender equality, which states that any form of segregation must be ‘entirely voluntary’.

The university has come under fire in recent years for allegedly restricting its students’ free speech – the rugby society was disbanded for being sexist (a pound to a penny Miss Buckley-Irvine rejoiced at that, and maybe had a hand in it), some tabloid newspapers were banned from the campus, and the atheist society was reprimanded for wearing T-shirts showing Jesus holding hands with Muhammad

The company which runs Grand Connaught Rooms declined to comment.