Dhaka, Feb 2 (.) Protests swept through university campuses in Dhaka, after the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman made allegedly derogatory remarks about working women in a post on his X account, prompting sharp backlash from student groups, women activists and political organisations.
At Dhaka University and Jagannath University, demonstrators accused the Jamaat chief of promoting misogynistic views and demanded an unconditional public apology.
Protesters also rejected Rahman’s claim that his social media account had been hacked, a defence that has drawn scepticism from across the political spectrum.
At Dhaka University, activists from Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), along with left-leaning student groups, marched from Madhur Canteen shortly before noon, parading through the Arts Building and Raju Sculpture before holding a rally at Aparajeyo Bangla.
Chanting slogans condemning the alleged remarks, protesters accused Jamaat-e-Islami of harbouring deeply regressive attitudes toward women’s participation in public life.
“They view working women as prostitutes. They do not see women as equals but as servants,” said JCD Central Joint Secretary Sayera Chandra Chakma, addressing the rally. “You will not be able to confine women to their homes again.”
Others questioned the hacking claim directly, shouting “You called them prostitutes and now say your ID was hacked.”
JCD Central President Rakibul Islam Rakib warned that protests would intensify if Rahman failed to issue an apology.
Another senior JCD leader, Mansura Alam, pointed to the political implications, asking how a party could insult women while seeking votes from an electorate in which women make up more than half.
“When women are 52 per cent of voters, how can they be spoken of this way and politics still be claimed?” she said.
Parallel demonstrations were held at Jagannath University, where students led by female JCD activists rallied at Shanto Chattar. Farzana Akter Tumpa, president of the Nawab Faizunnesa Chowdhurani Hall unit of JCD, said the alleged comments were “vulgar and unacceptable”, particularly given Rahman’s position as a national political leader. Another organiser, Khadijatul Kubra, described equating working women with prostitution as “a gross insult”.
The protests broadened as the day wore on. Around 1:00 PM, women leaders from several student organisations staged a broom procession in front of the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University, a symbolic act of rejection. In the evening, the Ganatratik Chhatra Jote, a coalition of seven leftist student organisations, brought out a torch procession from the TSC. Separately, a group of working women held a broom procession in Mirpur’s Kafrul area, as outrage gripped Bangladesh over the Jamaat Ameer’s alleged derogatory statement.
. . KK