Women chant in Shahbagh - “Five, not eight, who are you to decide?”

Women in Bangladesh are once again being pushed back into darkness. Attempts are underway to reduce working hours to force women back into their homes. Whether a woman works outside or stays at home is entirely her personal decision.

These remarks were made by women leaders and socially conscious individuals at a programme held in front of the National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka on Friday.

During the event, the attending women chanted in unison: “Five, not eight — who are you to decide?”

The silent march and rally titled “Escalating Violence and Disrespect Against Women: Vigilant Women’s Ready to Resist” was organised by the Women and Child Rights Forum.

At the event, participants covered their mouths with black cloths to protest against the ongoing violence and disrespect directed at women.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed attended the event as the chief guest.

He accused a certain political party of using religion as a tool for political business and said that women were being persecuted under their influence.

“They want women to remain confined within the inner quarters of their homes. They want half of Bangladesh’s population to remain in the dark. They do not want the progress and advancement of women. That is why they are saying working hours will be reduced. But if working hours are shortened, women’s employment opportunities will decline.”

Presiding over the event, Selima Rahman, convener of the Women and Child Rights Forum and BNP standing committee member, said, “We thought that after the July mass uprising, the situation would change; that women would regain their dignity, and the killings and rapes of the past 17 years would cease. But sadly, women are once again being pushed into darkness. Attempts are underway to reduce their working hours to force them back home. Therefore, women must continue the struggle to reclaim their rights. Women must raise their voices together to regain their dignity.”

The event was conducted by Nipun Roy Chowdhury, member secretary of the Women and Child Rights Forum. She said, “With today’s programme, we send a clear signal, the women of this country will rise if any crisis is created regarding women’s rights.”

Chowdhury Saima Ferdous, member of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC), noted that whether women work outside or remain at home is solely their personal choice.

“Women’s rights are human rights. Women do not need anyone’s charity or benevolence. Whether they run the household or work outside is entirely a matter of their personal freedom. Let women make their own decisions,” she stated.

Addressing the event, professor Nahrin Islam Khan of Jahangirnagar University noted, “Men are our comrades, not our enemies. Alongside the female, the men who fall victim to cyberbullying — I stand by them as well.”

She said that women reject the July Charter because it does not mention women. “Economic growth is not real development. Real development is when a woman can return home safely at night,” she added.

Sanjida Islam, coordinator of Maayer Dak, said that the patriarchal society is still not vocal enough against violence toward women. “We witnessed a change during the mass uprising. But following that, we now hear proposals suggesting that our working hours will be reduced to five hours.”

Speaking at the programme, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) research and publications affairs secretary, Sanjida Ahmed Tonni, said that whether in politics, in the family, or in any other sphere, whenever women attempted to speak, they faced harassment; whether over their personal lives, ideologies, or clothing.

She said women must speak up to stop violence against them.

Former MP Bilkis Islam, Nilufa Chowdhury, Shirin Sultana, Central JCD joint general secretary Mansura Alam, and vice-president Rehana Akhter also addressed the gathering.