‘Everything seems to be women’s fault’

“Everything seems to be women’s fault! It has become a cultural problem” — Suraiya Sultana Bithi made the remark in frustration after facing harassment in a public space in Dhaka following her return from Sweden. She is a special correspondent for Netra News and lives in Sweden for work. She had recently returned to Bangladesh for two and a half months.

On 15 April, Suraiya was harassed while shopping with her parents at Meradia Bazar in Banasree. According to her account, a man had been staring at her inappropriately for a long time. Irritated, she asked him, “What are you looking at?” The man then became aggressive. He first said, “What’s your problem?” in a demeaning tone and then began verbally abusing her further.

Suraiya said that at one point the man took out his mobile phone and tried to gather a mob by calling others. She then started recording the incident on video. The video shows the man using abusive language. Suraiya said that instead of stopping him, people nearby urged her and helped her leave the area.

The female journalist later experienced a similar form of harassment online. After posting the video on Facebook, many users directed various comments at her instead. In a voice filled with frustration, Suraiya said, “Public spaces seem to belong only to Bengali men. If you do not have that identity, there is no safety in public spaces.”

Suraiya is not an isolated example. After news reports on women’s employment or child marriage are published, comment sections in the media often turn into platforms for abusive language, hatred and mockery.

Many people assume such hostility is driven by technology-based ‘bot’ attacks. But this hostility is not confined to digital spaces — its presence is also evident on the streets, in public spaces and in educational institutions. In many cases, women who protest end up facing further harassment themselves.

The issue has also been raised in the National Parliament. Independent MP Rumeen Farhana and State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Farzana Sharmin have both alleged degrading comments and behaviour directed at women.

Incidents, including the cancellation of women’s football matches in Joypurhat and Rangpur last year, allegations of assaults in the capital following remarks about women’s clothing or behaviour, and several incidents in Dhaka University, Mohammadpur and Lalmatia, have shown that women’s presence or protest itself has become a trigger for harassment.

Shireen Parvin Huq, former head of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission and a member of Naripokkho, told Prothom Alo, “Misogyny seems to have become a core element of our culture. This vicious cycle simply cannot be broken. Some incidents come into discussion, some make the news, but the countless forms of violence that occur every day remain unnoticed. Women are not respected as human beings, and hatred towards them is expressed without fear.”

Sara Hossain, senior Supreme Court lawyer and human rights activist, told Prothom Alo that people had emerged through a particular situation after the July movement. “The police could not maintain a strong hold. Several extremist groups have entered the field, and they have got away with it. Major initiatives will be needed to bring them under accountability,” she said.

Several incidents of harassment against women have come into public discussion in the first four months of the current year. One of those incidents was on 24 February, when three students of Dhaka University assaulted two women and a young man accompanying them in the university’s Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) area.

CCTV footage showed them throwing punches and kicks, as well as striking the victims with sticks and helmets and also delivering ‘flying kicks’. In another video that circulated later on Facebook, a woman can be heard shouting that they did not feel safe even within the Dhaka University campus, and that they had been insulted by being called “prostitutes”.

Following the incident, the university authorities suspended the three students for six months.

In several videos circulated on social media, incidents have also been seen of two schoolgirls being subjected to obscene gestures on their way to school in Mymensingh; a Dhaka University student being harassed by an outsider; a middle-aged woman being beaten after being dragged off a bus by her hair following an argument over fare; and a woman being slapped after a minor collision between two cars.

In addition, complaints of derogatory remarks directed at women inside metro rail general coaches are being made regularly.

A woman who is a regular on metro rail, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo that although there is a separate coach for women, it does not mean women cannot board the general coaches. “But as soon as we enter the general coach, men start making rude comments,” she said.

On 2 April, speaking on a point of order in parliament, Independent MP Rumeen Farhana alleged that a lawmaker had made derogatory comments about female MPs, describing them as “ugly and vile”. Later, on 29 April, while taking part in a discussion on the president’s speech, State Minister Farzana Sharmin also raised similar allegations.

A week after the BNP government took office, on 24 February, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin told Prothom Alo that violence against women and misogynistic attitudes were manifestations of “the behaviour of sick individuals”. She said these issues had been ingrained in society over many years, and that women in politics have also faced similar harassment.

Emphasising the need to raise social awareness against violence and encourage women to speak out, State Minister Farzana Sharmin said proper enforcement of laws was necessary to prevent such incidents. She added that the ministry would further strengthen its activities to prevent violence against women.

This year, Mumitul Mimma, associate editor of the features section at the newly launched newspaper Agamir Somoy, said she was harassed over not wearing an orna (scarf).

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Mumitul Mimma said that on 11 April, while on her way to work, an elderly man approached her in front of the TK Bhaban in Karwan Bazar and said, “Hey, you should wear an orna. Why aren’t you wearing one?”

Mumitul alleged that when she asked the man why he was making such comments, he became aggressive towards her. When she tried to record the incident on video as evidence, the man twisted her arm and snatched her mobile phone. She said several others arrived later, sided with the man and rebuked her instead, before quickly leaving the scene with him.

Mumitul said there is a deliberate effort, backed by political patronage, to curb women’s personal freedoms and control their lifestyles through misogynistic behaviour. She added that such tendencies were gradually turning conservatism into the “new normal”.

Professor Sayed Md Saikh Imtiaz of the Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka believes the repeated incidents of harassment against women are partly due to the failure to ensure justice in earlier cases.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, the professor said offenders in cases of harassments against women continue to get away with such acts because exemplary punishment is rarely ensured. Even in cases where punishment is handed down, he said it is important to clearly publicise what punishment was given and why, so that others are deterred.

Saikh Imtiaz also stressed the need to build a social mindset that accepts women’s empowerment.

He said, “We work on women’s empowerment. But we do not work on how men will accept women’s empowerment. Society and the state must work to prepare men as well. Men are facing a crisis—they do not know how to groom or prepare themselves. Separate plans focusing on boys are needed. Research under state patronage is also necessary in this regard.”

Professor Imtiaz believes the shrinking space for cultural activities and sports, which once offered alternative avenues for social development, is disrupting social balance.

Lawyer Sara Hossain stressed the need for widespread public awareness about what constitutes harassment against women and what the law says about it.

She also said that just as social movements helped make family planning successful, a similar awareness campaign is needed to bring social change against misogyny. She said the sense of shame should shift from the victim to the accused, so that those accused of harassing women feel ashamed instead.

Shireen Pervin Huq, a member of Naripokkho, said all ministries and both public and private institutions must take a unified stance to ensure women’s safety. She said that alongside the women’s movement, cultural, labour and professional movements must also be involved in protecting women’s rights, ensuring their safety and establishing women’s identity as human beings.

Meanwhile, journalist Mumitul Mimma wrote about her own experience of harassment in a Facebook post. She wrote that although such situations once left her feeling hopeless, she has now taken a firm stand. With an unwavering resolve not to give up without a fight she wrote, “Bina Juddh Nahi Dibo Suchyagro Medini (I will not yield even an inch of land without a fight).”