Protesters board metro rail in shorts to protest harassment of athlete trainer
Several young men boarded a metro train wearing shorts to protest the police harassment of an athlete trainer at a metro station after police deemed his shorts “indecent”.
Five young men staged the protest wearing shorts at Dhaka’s Farmgate Metro Station at around 7:00 am today, Thursday.
On 27 September morning, police allegedly harassed athlete trainer Sazzad Hossain at the same station when he tried to board a metro train wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
A programme titled “Metro Rail in Shorts!” was organised at Farmgate Metro Station from 5:00 am to 8:00 am today, Thursday to protest the harassment of Sazzad Hossain.
The organisers invited people who believe that no one should face harassment or be prevented from using public transport for wearing ordinary sportswear. On an open Facebook event titled “Metro Rail in Shorts!”, the organisers had invited people to join the programme.
By 10:30 pm on Wednesday, 672 users had marked themselves as “Going”, while 8,200 had marked themselves as “Interested”.
The reporter visited the area beneath the metro station near Khamarbari in Farmgate at 6:45 am to cover the programme. A police team was stationed beneath the metro station at the time.
A private car belonging to the Tejgaon division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) was also seen there. A few journalists were waiting nearby, but none of the athletes who had called the programme had arrived.
Around 7:00 am, three young men arrived beneath the metro station near Anwara Uddyan in Farmgate. They were private-sector employees Sagar Mazumdar and Rakibul Islam and businessman Mahfuzur Rahman.
When asked about the programme, runner and private-sector employee Sagar Mazumdar told Prothom Alo, “We are runners. Wearing shorts is more comfortable when running, so we wear shorts. Sazzad Hossain, an athlete known at home and abroad, recently faced harassment while trying to board the metro wearing shorts. We do not want anyone else to face harassment like him. That is why we have come to protest.”
Sagar Mazumdar said that as a runner, he too could face harassment like Sazzad Hossain on the metro rail or elsewhere. The organisers called the programme from that perspective, and he came to join it.
Their message to everyone is, “Let us get rid of the negative mindset. Shorts are not really the issue; if you view them negatively, they become negative, and if you view them positively, they become positive.”
When asked why no one other than the three of them had joined the programme, businessman Mahfuzur Rahman said they had come to protest in their personal capacity. They did not know about the others.
Mahfuzur said, “I believe we should have the right to travel on the metro wearing shorts. It is ordinary clothing. I do not usually travel by metro, nor do I wear shorts. Perhaps after five years, I found a pair of shorts today, put them on and came here simply to speak up for this right.”
After 7:00 am, Sagar Mazumdar and Mahfuzur Rahman boarded the metro rail wearing shorts. Rakibul did not join them. They went to the ticket counter and bought tickets for Bijoy Sarani Station.
They then punched their tickets and entered the paid area of the metro station to access the platform. Sagar and Mahfuzur later got off at Bijoy Sarani Station after travelling from Farmgate and left separately.
It has been reported that, at the same time Sagar and Mahfuzur boarded the metro, two other young protesters wearing shorts entered through another gate at Farmgate Metro Station.
Their names and identities could not be confirmed. Eyewitnesses said the two had bought tickets from Farmgate to Motijheel.
On the morning of 27 September, athlete trainer Sazzad Hossain went to board the metro after exercising while wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
A police officer on duty at Farmgate Metro Station deemed his clothing “indecent” and made him stand in front of the ticket-punching machine for 40 minutes. However, the metro rail has no dress code for passengers.
In protest against the incident, the Facebook event created for the programme at Farmgate Station stated, “Wear your running shorts, wear a T-shirt, come together and board the metro. This is not an event to create disorder. This is a peaceful civic protest—against arbitrary harassment, for clear rules and for respectful treatment of passengers. If anything is prohibited, there should be clear and written rules. The problem is not the shorts; the problem is the harassment!”