Women who participated in mass uprising now harassed on social media

The first priority must be to guarantee the safety of women in society to ensure their development. If women are not safe at school, on public transports, on the streets, or online, then it is impossible to create a positive environment in society.

Speakers expressed these views on Monday afternoon at a discussion titled “Bangladesh of the future through women’s eyes: Crisis and possibility,” held at the Abdus Salam auditorium of the National Press Club.

The event was organized by ‘Kotha Bolo Nari’, a platform for women’s rights.

At the outset of the meeting, several women who took part in the July uprising shared their experiences from the post-uprising period.

They spoke about how they have been continuously harassed on social media since the July-uprising.

Stating that they are being discredited and made to feel unsafe in society, the women expressed a desire to be freed from this situation.

Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S Murshid the chief guest at the discussion.

Addressing the programme, she said, “Our primary task is to ensure the safety of women. While social change can be achieved through struggle and democratic movements, everything becomes complicated when it comes to gender equality.”

She added that the core task of her ministry is to ensure the safety of women and children. To achieve this, several strategies have been adopted, including the formation of a “social force” to ensure women’s safety.

According to her, this force, composed of several hundred women, will work on issues including cyberbullying against women. Their job will be to monitor incidents of harassment throughout the day and create alternative narratives.

Professor Giti Ara Nasreen from the Mass Communication and Journalism Department at Dhaka University pointed out that abusive language toward women has become embedded in every aspect of life.

“There are expressions of violence against women everywhere - in speech, or behaviour,” she said.

She further said compromises have continuously been made regarding women's issues over different government regimes.

“What we understand now is that, after the July uprising, women are no longer willing to tolerate violence. The women will no longer allow space in this Bangladesh to those whose actions reflect that they are violent against women. If the uprising gave us anything, it is this: we want change. And we have seen that change in women,” Giti Ara Nasreen stated.

Addressing the event, writer and researcher Maha Mirza said, “During the July uprising, men and women demonstrated standing side by side. No one made any distinctions at that time. But after the 5 August, we gradually witnessed the rise of an extremist force that started targeting and oppressing women in various ways.”

Putting emphasis on the need to ensure women’s safety, Rezwana Karim, an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, said, “Law enforcement must become more women-friendly. Choice of language needs to be inclusive and supportive of women. Most importantly, the state must ensure women’s security.”

Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s spokesperson Umama Fatema said women are always burdened with speaking out against the oppression they face.

“Why am I constantly forced to talk about women’s rights? We are mentally weakened so that we cannot move forward,” she stated.

Umama further said that the women want to talk about reforming society, the state, and the constitution. “Ensuring safety for women in every sector of society is essential.”

Women and Children Affairs ministry Senior Secretary Momtaz Ahmed said that the government is continuously addressing cyberbullying against women. The ministry will work with the home ministry on this issue.

She added that the government has various initiatives in place to ensure women’s safety, and steps will be taken to increase public awareness of these efforts.

Other speakers at the discussion included Nusrat Haque, the convener of ‘Kotha Bolo Nari’, among others.