Space Shrinks for Bangladesh's Women

Few days ago, Islamic political parties, led by the conservative Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), rallied in Dhaka's sprawling Suhrawardy Udyan to address 20,000 supporters who were demanding the winding up of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission set up by the interim regime and the appointment of a new Commission comprising Islamic scholars as well as representatives from "devout segments of the female population".

- SMRUTI S PATTANAIK

The Commission submitted its report with 433 recommendations on 19 April 2025. Among other things, it recommended equal rights for all women and men, including in inheritance, marriage and divorce. Unsurprisingly, the Islamists who have consistently argued against women being in public spaces and their right to inheritance were worried. A writ petition has already been filed in the Bangladesh High Court challenging the recommendation of the Women's Commission.

Not long ago, the Shahbag police arrested an Islamist who asked a Dhaka University female student to dress appropriately. Following the arrest, a mob camped in front of the police station and freed the accused, and also garlanded him later. Such instances do not end here. Women's football teams were prevented from playing following threats from the Islamists. Similarly, an effigy of a saree-clad woman near the Aparajeyo Bangla being beaten with shoes by Islamists to demonstrate their anti-women stance and terming women in public places as whores became viral in social media.

The rally of the Islamists against women's rights is not new. In 2009, the Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), the largest Islamic organisation in Bangladesh, demanded the withdrawal of the draft of the National Women's Development Policy Bill initially proposed by the military-backed caretaker regime. This was based on a Supreme Court judgement that provided guidelines to safeguard women in the workplace while disposing of a petition by the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA). Later, Hasina's government passed a watered-down version of the original bill in 2011 to appease the Islamists.