Young woman fought alone on the bus, shoe in hand

In a viral video, a young woman was seen furiously confronting a man sitting in the front seat of a bus over an offensive remark he had made. The man then got up and slapped her.

At one point, both of them took off their shoes and raised them at each other. The man struck the woman and pushed her to the ground, repeatedly shoving and trying to hit her. The woman shouted, “Why are you talking about my clothes?”

Someone on the bus recorded the incident on video. Apart from two women and one man at the front, none of the other passengers tried to stop the attacker or protest. They remained completely silent. With shoe in hand, the young woman kept fighting back alone, against the bus conductor.

The incident took place on 27 October in the capital’s Basila area. After the video spread widely on social media, it sparked a wave of reaction and discussions about the frequent harassment and sexual abuse women face on public transport.

The identities of both the assailant and the young woman have since been confirmed. The harasser, 45-year-old Nizam Uddin, is the conductor of a Ramzan Paribahan bus operating in the Basila area. He was arrested on Thursday night.

The young woman, who was harassed, is a student at a private university. In a video message to friends, she said she was not in a mental state to speak to anyone at the moment. As a case has been filed under sexual assault charges, her name and identity are being withheld in accordance with the law.

Mohammad Abrar Faisal, operations officer of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-4, told Prothom Alo that they had arrested Nizam Uddin and handed him over to Mohammadpur police station.

The station’s officer-in-charge (OC), Kazi Rafique, confirmed that the young woman filed a case on Friday under Section 10 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. Nizam Uddin has been shown arrested in the case and sent to jail through the court.

The OC stated that the altercation began over a dispute about half fare. During the argument, the bus conductor made an inappropriate comment about the young woman’s clothing and physically assaulted her.

Section 10 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act pertains to sexual harassment. If he’s found guilty the accused may face rigorous imprisonment ranging from three to ten years.

A video message from the young woman was shared Friday on Facebook by an individual. In the video, she identifies herself, saying, “The girl being talked about on social media for the past few days over the bus incident, that’s me. I’ve been disconnected from everyone these past few days. The uproar on social media has left me deeply traumatised.”

“Since yesterday, administrative officials have been trying very hard to contact me. I spoke to them yesterday. They told me that the accused has been arrested and brought to Mohammadpur Police Station. I’m now on my way there. I’m recording this video to ensure my safety and to let everyone know what’s happening. So that you are aware even if I end up in any kind of scam,” she added.

After her identity was confirmed yesterday, this correspondent tried to contact her through Facebook Messenger, but she did not respond. Her phone was found switched off today, and she did not reply to WhatsApp messages either. Over the past two days, this reporter spoke with two of her friends, who said the young woman is mentally distressed and does not wish to speak to anyone at the moment.

One of her friends, a fourth-year student of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Dhaka, told Prothom Alo that they had spoken to their friend shortly after the incident. She told them that the incident occurred on her way home, when the bus conductor harassed her and made obscene remarks about her clothing.

The young woman has been deeply shaken since then. Incidents like this often go unpunished, the friend said. So she (the victim) is uncertain whether she even wants to seek justice. The friend added that they spoke to her again Friday evening, and she told them that she was unwell but would contact everyone once she feels better.

Another of her friend, a postgraduate student of the Department of Drama and Dramatics at Jahangirnagar University, said that their friend is still mentally traumatised. They have spoken to her several times since the incident.

Meanwhile, a symbolic image inspired by the young woman’s act of defiance, holding a shoe in her hand and fighting back, has gone viral on social media. Many people have reposted it as a mark of protest.

A development worker named Sabina Parveen posted the image with the caption, “Watch your mouth. Otherwise, it’ll be hard for us to control our hands.” Many others have also praised the young woman’s bravery.

One of her friends wrote on Facebook, “…what I learned from you is that I should invest in a pair of thick, strong shoes.” In another post, she wrote, “Thank you… you fought back with everything you had.”

There are countless other incidents of women being harassed on public transport, including bus. Occasionally, such cases draw public attention, prompting action. For instance, on 24 July 2022, a college student was harassed in Azimpur, Dhaka, and later posted about the incident on Facebook.

After the post went viral, police identified the bus from CCTV footage and arrested the driver. Following that, drivers on three buses were required to wear uniforms and install cameras on their vehicles.

In 2022, the Aanchal Foundation published a survey titled ‘Harassment on public transport in Dhaka city: Its impact on the mental health of adolescent girls and young women’.

According to the survey, 63 per cent of adolescent girls and young women reported experiencing some form of harassment on public transport within the previous six months (at the time of the survey).

Among those who reported sexual harassment, 75 per cent said the perpetrators were other passengers, while 20 per cent said they were harassed by bus conductors.

Some also mentioned being harassed by drivers or hawkers. Over one-third of the respondents said they spend three to four hours a day on public transport.

Apart from harassment, there are also cases of rape and gang rape on buses and other public transport. On 25 August 2017, a working woman named Rupa was gang-raped and murdered on a moving bus. On 6 May 2019, a nurse was gang-raped and killed after being thrown off a Swarnalata Paribahan bus in Bajitpur, Kishoreganj.

On 19 December 2021 in Narayanganj’s Bandar upazila, a housewife was gang-raped on a moving bus as loud music blared. On 6 August 2022 in Gazipur, a woman (aged 21) was gang-raped after her husband was thrown off a moving bus.

Just four days earlier, on 2 August, an incident of robbery and rape occurred on an Eagle Paribahan bus travelling from Kushtia to Narayanganj.

On 18 June 2023 in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila, a female garment worker was attacked by the bus driver and his assistants, who attempted to rape her on a moving bus. Failing in their attempt, they threw her onto the road, leaving her critically injured. She died two days later while undergoing treatment.

On 17 January last year, a teenage girl who boarded the wrong train (Lalmoni Express) was raped by a train attendant while the train was in motion.

To improve women’s safety in public transport, the Broadcast Journalists Association (BJC) and Switch Bangladesh Foundation (SBF) launched the HELP app in Dhaka on 15 March this year.

HELP stands for Harassment Elimination Literacy Programme. The initiative is funded by the European Union, with support from Free Press Limited and Article 19.

Adnan Chowdhury, programme officer of HELP and coordinator of the BJC, told Prothom Alo that the app allows any woman or eyewitness passenger to report incidents of harassment.

Explaining how the app works, he said that if a woman faces harassment on a moving bus or other public transport, she can report it with a single click. On buses operating along the Mohammadpur–Sayedabad route, QR codes are displayed, scanning one opens the app instantly.

Pressing the ‘Alert’ option sends the victim’s live location to the admin panel, which then connects with the nearest police station. The app also includes direct access to the national emergency service (999) and nearby police stations.

Users can choose to remain anonymous while submitting reports. All complaints are stored in the app’s database and can be used later for legal support. Over 700 complaints have been received so far, including many from outside the project’s coverage area. Of them, around 150 cases have already been resolved, Adnan added.

In a separate initiative aimed at ensuring safer travel for women, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs launched a pilot project to install CCTV cameras on 100 buses.

The one-year project, titled ‘Improving Women’s Safe Commute Management in Public Transport’, was implemented in 2022 by the private organisation Dipto Foundation at a cost of Tk 14.2 million (Tk 1.42 crore).

Under the scheme, 108 buses in Dhaka were equipped with cameras. However, after the project ended in 2023, there has been no further monitoring on that.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, deputy secretary at the ministry and director of the project, Dipak Kumar Roy said the cameras were handed over to the bus operators. Since the project has ended, there is no ongoing supervision of their current condition.

Responding to a question, he admitted that installing cameras in only a limited number of buses cannot stop harassment. He added that to make such efforts effective, the Road Transport and Highways Division would need to take steps to install cameras in all buses nationwide.