Driver kept accelerating as she tried to get off, eventually jumped down

“These filthy women ruin the atmosphere of the bus. Get off, you shameless woman!” the bus conductor’s remark was the final straw. “After hearing that, I just couldn’t control myself,” said the young woman who was recently harassed on a bus in Basila area of the capital.

In a long phone conversation with Prothom Alo Saturday, she recounted the entire incident, saying she felt deeply hurt that not a single passenger protested. Even the man who filmed the incident made insulting comments towards her. When she tried to get off the bus, the driver kept accelerating, preventing her from doing so.

Still, the young woman said firmly that this harassment would not silence her, she would continue to protest.

The incident, in which she hit the harasser bus conductor with her shoe in protest, occurred on 27 October. After a passenger uploaded the video on social media, it sparked a public outcry.

On Thursday, police arrested the conductor, Nizam Uddin, 45, of Ramzan Paribahan, and sent him to jail. Following the young woman’s statement, the state filed a case under Section 10 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act (on charges of sexual harassment) on Friday.

The video showed a young woman sitting near the front of the bus, angrily confronting a man over something he said. The man got up and slapped her. Both then raised their shoes at each other; the man struck her and pushed her down.

He repeatedly shoved and tried to hit her as she shouted, “Why are you talking about my clothes?” Apart from two women and one man near the front, none of the other passengers tried to intervene or protest.

The young woman told Prothom Alo that her parents and siblings live in Chandpur, where her father runs a small shop. Eldest of her siblings, she passed SSC and HSC in Chandpur and now studies Law at a private university in Dhaka.

To help with expenses, she does freelance work such as crafts, painting, and occasionally hosting television programmes. She shares a rented flat with a few others in Basila area of Dhaka.

Recalling the day, she said she had gone to Motaleb Plaza in Hatirpool to repair her phone and later boarded a Ramzan Paribahan bus at Dhanmondi 15 around 2:00 or 2:30 pm to return home. She sat in the middle section. When the conductor came for the fare, she told him she was a student and paid half.

“The conductor sneered and said, ‘You don’t look like a student, judging by your face and clothes!’ I was annoyed but still replied politely, ‘What does my dress have to do with being a student? Why are you talking like that?’ We exchanged a few words then, but I didn’t lose my temper first.”

She said the government started strictly implimenting half fares for students from August last year. But, many drivers and their assistants are reluctant to comply. “They either behave badly for harassment or because they refuse to accept half fare. They get irritated when they hear the word ‘student’. I’ve somewhat got used to this behaviour,” she added.

“But many drivers and assistants are kind. They don’t mind and they even help when students get on or off the bus.”

When asked how the altercation turned physical, she said that as she was getting off the bus near Metro Housing, she heard the conductor shout, “These filthy women ruin the atmosphere of the bus. Get off, you shameless woman!” Furious, she got back on the bus and confronted him.

She said, “The part you saw in the video starts from when I was shouting. From the way it was shown, it looks as though I suddenly became aggressive — but that’s not what happened. I lost control only after hearing the conductor’s final remark.”

Some people online claimed she hadn’t paid the fare or that no comment was made about her clothes. She refuted this saying, “That’s not true. He did comment on my clothes, and I did pay half the fare.”

She added, “I’ve lived in Dhaka for four years and use public transport daily. Women face harassment on buses all the time. If you ride Mohammapur buses, especially in the evening after 8:00 pm, you’ll see how drivers, conductors and assistants behave. Ask women, 90 per cent will tell you they don’t protest for the fear of harassment.”

She continued, “What happened to me isn’t just my story, it’s every woman’s story. You must have noticed in the video, the two women and one man who stood up didn’t protest, rather they only tried to stop the scuffle. Not one passenger told the conductor, ‘Why are you hitting a woman?’ I was completely alone.”

When asked about the person who filmed the video, she said, “A male passenger was recording it, with a woman beside him. He wasn’t filming to help but for more harassment.”

When asked how did she know that, the young woman said she asked him why he was recording, he sneered, ‘You people can fight in public, but if I record, I’m the bad guy?’ She said she even requested him to delete the video, but he refused. “When the bus stopped near Basila Bridge, they got up to leave and the man shouted at me, ‘Move aside! Get out of the way!’”

Moments later, as the bus emptied, she tried to get off. Each time, the driver kept accelerataing. Finally, she jumped off and losing her balance fell to the ground, the young woman said.

Towards the end of the conversation, she said, “Some people are calling me brave. Some say I did what they couldn’t. But inside, it still hurts that not even a single person on that bus spoke up for me.”

When asked how her parents reacted, she said, “I called them immediately after it happened. But when my mother saw the video, she fell ill. She kept saying, ‘They’re hitting my daughter, and no one on the bus is helping her.’ That thought broke her heart. My father told me, ‘You did nothing wrong. Don’t be sad. Take care of yourself’.”

The young woman urged policymakers and rights activists to work more actively to create a safer environment for women and children. “Women aren’t safe at home, outside, or on the streets. The government must treat this issue seriously. Those working on women’s and children’s rights should address it too.”

She added, “Men who harass women do so because they’ve learned from society and family that nothing will happen to them. Please, everyone — help build empathy and sensitivity in them.” Finally, she said, “Yes, I was harassed. I felt terrible, I was traumatised. But I won’t be silenced. I’ll keep protesting.”

“The harassers know nothing happens when they hurt women.”