Jamaat delegation meets CEC amid controversy over 'ameer's X post on women'
Today, four of the six members of the Jamaat delegation are women.
A six-member delegation of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, led by Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer, head of the party's Publicity and Media Department, held a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) today (1 February) at the Election Commission Secretariat in Dhaka.
The meeting, which began at 3:25pm, took place in the CEC's room at the Nirbachan Bhaban. Today, four of the six members of the Jamaat delegation are women.
The meeting comes amid widespread controversy surrounding a now-deleted post from Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman's verified X (formerly Twitter) account, which made remarks about working women and female leadership.
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Earlier in the day, Jamaat leader Mahmudur Rahman, a member of the party's Election Management Committee, alleged that the party had been subjected to cyberattacks.
"Most of the email addresses used in the cyberattacks came from government offices. Even junk mail came from official links. This could be sabotage," he said at a press conference at Jamaat's central office this morning.
"The Election Commission has a responsibility in this matter, and they must take strong action," the Jamaat leader added.
Meanwhile, at a symbolic "broom march" today condemning the Jamaat chief's remarks, writer and researcher Mahtab Uddin dismissed Jamaat's claim that the ameer's X account had been hacked, describing it as a "staged drama".
"The claim that their ameer's X account was hacked has failed to produce any evidence. If an account were hacked, the first step would be changing the password. Instead, they themselves changed it, this alone proves that the incident was a staged drama," he said.
He further said Jamaat-e-Islami's attitude towards women has long been embedded in its ideology.
"This mindset of undermining the dignity of working women is actively practised at the grassroots level of the organisation," Mahtab said, calling on the Election Commission to carry out a proper investigation.
"If Jamaat fails to provide evidence, its ameer must offer a public apology," he added.
Protests have also erupted over the issue. At a protest march today, Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam said the organisation strongly condemned what he termed the continued character assassination of women and demanded a public apology.
The controversy followed the circulation of screenshots of a post from Dr Shafiqur Rahman's verified X account that spread on social media last night. Jamaat later claimed the account had been hacked and deleted the post.
The post read, "On the question of women, Jamaat's position is neither confused nor apologetic – it is principled. We do not think women should come in leadership. In Jamaat, it is impossible. Allah did not permit this."
It further stated, "We believe that when women are pushed out of the home in the name of modernity, they are exposed to exploitation, moral decay, and insecurity. It's nothing but another form of prostitution. Social media vulgarity, workplace harassment, and commodification of women are not signs of progress – they are symptoms of moral collapse.
"We refuse to compromise with immorality, no matter how fashionable it becomes."
The now-deleted post has drawn widespread criticism from political parties, rights activists, and various sections of society.
