Everything is blamed on women
Photo Collected
A pervasive pattern of harassment against women, both online and in public spaces, is escalating across Bangladesh, with incidents ranging from verbal abuse and physical assault to online trolling. Victims, including a journalist and university students, report feeling increasingly unsafe, prompting calls for greater accountability, stricter legal enforcement, and a societal shift in attitudes.
Suraiya, a journalist, reported experiencing harassment on April 15 while shopping with her parents in Banasree’s Meradia market. She recounted a man staring at her inappropriately for an extended period. When she confronted him, he became aggressive, using expletives and attempting to rally a crowd against her by making a phone call. Suraiya began recording the incident, capturing the man’s abusive language on video. Instead of intervening, bystanders reportedly urged her to leave the area. This offline harassment extended online when Suraiya posted the video, receiving numerous critical comments about herself. “It seems public spaces have become exclusively for Bengali men,” Suraiya lamented, adding, “If you don’t fit that identity, there’s no safety in public spaces.”
বিজ্ঞাপন
Suraiya’s experience is not isolated. Reports on women’s employment and child marriage frequently attract vile, hateful, and sarcastic comments, often attributed to “bot” attacks. This animosity is evident not only in the digital realm but also in streets, public gatherings, and educational institutions. Often, women who protest are subjected to further harassment.
The issue has reached the national parliament, where independent Member of Parliament Rumin Farhana and State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Farzana Sharmin have voiced concerns over derogatory comments and behavior directed at women. Incidents in the past year, such as the cancellation of women’s football matches in Joypurhat and Rangpur, allegations of assault in Dhaka following comments on dress or behavior, and multiple events at Dhaka University, Mohammadpur, and Lalmatia, illustrate how women’s mere presence or protest can provoke harassment.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Shireen Parveen Huq, former head of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission and a member of Nari Pakkho, told local media that misogyny appears to have become a core element of Bangladeshi culture. “This vicious cycle remains unbroken,” she stated. “Some incidents gain attention and media coverage, but the constant, varied forms of violence often go unnoticed. There’s a fearless expression of hatred, failing to respect women as human beings.”
Sara Hossain, a senior Supreme Court lawyer and human rights activist, observed that the country has emerged from a particular situation following the July movement, with police failing to maintain a strong stance, allowing “extremist groups” to operate with impunity. She emphasized the need for significant initiatives to hold them accountable.
The first four months of this year have seen multiple incidents of harassment against women come to light. On February 24, three Dhaka University students assaulted two women and a young man at the university’s Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) area. CCTV footage showed them being punched, kicked, and hit with sticks and helmets. Another video circulated on Facebook showed a woman screaming that they were unsafe even within Dhaka University and had been called “prostitutes.” Following the incident, the university administration provisionally suspended the three students for six months.
Several videos circulating on social media also depict various acts of harassment: two students being subjected to obscene gestures on their way to school in Mymensingh, a Dhaka University student being harassed by an outsider, a middle-aged woman being pulled by her hair from a bus and beaten over a fare dispute, and a woman being slapped after a minor collision between two private cars. Additionally, there are regular complaints of derogatory comments directed at women in the general compartments of the metro rail. A regular female metro passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, highlighted that while there are separate compartments for women, this does not mean women cannot use general compartments; however, they often face hostile remarks from men when they do.
On April 2, during a point of order in parliament, independent MP Rumin Farhana accused a fellow parliamentarian of making “ugly and grotesque” comments about female MPs. State Minister Farzana Sharmin echoed similar complaints on April 29 during discussions on the President’s address. Just a week after the BNP government took office, on February 24, State Minister Farzana Sharmin told local media that violence and misogynistic attitudes towards women are manifestations of an “unhealthy mindset” that has permeated society for many years. She noted that female politicians have also experienced harassment. Sharmin stressed the need for greater societal awareness and women’s activism against violence, advocating for the proper enforcement of laws to prevent such incidents and pledging to strengthen the ministry’s efforts to combat gender-based violence.
Mumitul Mimma, Assistant Editor of the feature section for the new newspaper Agamir Shomoy, was harassed over her attire this year. She recounted to local media that on April 11, on her way to work in front of TK Bhaban in Karwan Bazar, an elderly man confronted her, saying, “Hey, you should wear an *orna*. Why aren’t you wearing one?” When Mimma asked for clarification, the man reportedly lunged at her. As she tried to record the incident, he twisted her arm and snatched her phone. A group of people then intervened, siding with the man and admonishing Mimma before quickly leaving the scene with him. Mimma asserts that there is a “planned political patronage” attempting to restrict women’s personal freedom and control their lifestyles through misogynistic behavior. She added that such trends are gradually making “conservatism the new normal.”
Professor Syed Md. Shaik Imtiaz of the Department of Women and Gender Studies at Dhaka University attributes the recurrence of harassment incidents to the lack of proper justice for past offenses. He told local media that perpetrators repeatedly escape accountability due to the absence of exemplary punishment. He stressed the importance of clearly publicizing the nature and reasons for any punishments meted out to deter others. Imtiaz also emphasized the need to foster a societal mindset that accepts women’s progress. “We work on women’s empowerment, but we don’t work on how men will accept it,” he noted. “Society and the state must work to prepare men. Men have a crisis; they don’t know how to groom themselves. There needs to be separate planning with a focus on boys. Research should be conducted with state patronage.” Professor Imtiaz also believes that the narrowing of alternative avenues for development, such as cultural activities and sports, is disrupting social balance.
Lawyer Sara Hossain underscored the importance of widespread public awareness campaigns regarding what constitutes women’s harassment and what the law states on the matter. She further suggested that public awareness campaigns against misogyny should be implemented with the same success as family planning initiatives, shifting the shame from the victim to the accused to make perpetrators feel humiliated.
Shireen Parveen Huq called for all ministries, government, and non-government organizations to take a unified stance to ensure women’s protection. She advocated for integrating cultural, labor, and professional movements alongside women’s rights movements to uphold women’s rights, ensure their safety, and establish their identity as human beings.
Despite her harrowing experience, journalist Mumitul Mimma posted on her Facebook account about the incident, stating that while she once felt despair in such situations, she has now taken a firm stand, adopting an unwavering resolve: “I will not give up an inch of land without a fight.”
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