Cyberbullying at Ducsu: A weapon to silence women candidates?

As renowned filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak's wife Shurama Ghatak once quipped: women have no country, said Nuzia Hasin Rasha, a candidate in the upcoming Ducsu election. 

"Women have no campus. What they do have is a deep-rooted social and political prejudice against them. Every wall, every path of this university, in fact, screams that very truth."

Nuzia's words, layered with defiance and frustration, reflect a reality far greater than they might first suggest.

Only days earlier, she had shared an election campaign video online. In it, she pointed out that despite repeated promises to make the campus women-friendly, the university's infrastructure continues to fail female students.

But the message she hoped would spark debate instead drew hostility.

"In just a few minutes, a flood of vulgar comments appeared under my video," she recounted, though she refrained from revealing the content. The backlash was so sharp that it reached beyond her own screen. "After seeing the comments, my parents called me from home, deeply worried," she added.

Nuzia's ordeal is far from isolated. As Ducsu election day approaches, many women candidates report a surge of cyberbullying – vulgar comments, obscene messages, and even rape threats – aimed not only at their politics but at their gender.

The abuse, they say, comes from both anonymous bot accounts and identifiable Facebook profiles allegedly tied to a secret political group. 

What should be a contest of ideas is instead turning into a campaign of intimidation, designed to silence women, discredit them publicly, and wear them down psychologically.

Coordinated harassment since writ petition

The issue came to a head on 1 September, just a week before the Ducsu polls, when a single incident ignited nationwide attention and debate over online harassment of women candidates.

BM Fahmida Alam, a left-backed candidate, had filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the nomination of Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed GS candidate SM Farhad. 

In response, a student named Ali Husen posted a call for her "gang-rape procession" on social media. He was later expelled from the university for six months.

Reflecting on the attack, Fahmida said, "When the incident around my writ petition took place, it was not confined to just a cyber-attack. Simply because I am a woman, I was subjected to threats and forced to endure many forms of dehumanisation. 

"What if this writ had been filed by a male candidate? For women, such attacks become even more organised and relentless." 

She added, "Since that incident, I fear the threats against me are no longer limited to the online sphere. There is a real possibility of direct physical harm."

Fahmida's experience is not isolated. Following the incident, many female candidates reported similar harassment during their campaigns, alleging that the attacks are orchestrated to exclude women from politics entirely.

Sheikh Tasnim Afroze (Emi), a VP candidate from the Left-led Resistance Panel, alleged, "Nearly all 11 women in our panel face harassment. Those from indigenous backgrounds are bullied because of their ethnicity, and all of them are targeted again because of their gender."

Point scoring or accountability: Who's behind this?

Online harassment is emerging as a deliberate political strategy in the Ducsu election, targeting candidates to intimidate, discredit, and manipulate the race.

Abidul Islam Khan, a VP candidate of the Chhatra Dal-backed panel, pointed to Islami Chhatra Shibir as behind the attacks. 

"It is their strategic tool to wipe out their opponents. Not only women, men are also being targeted with body-shaming, misinformation and fake news," he said.

Left-backed AGS candidate Jabir Ahmed Jubel echoed the allegation. 

"Much of this harassment comes from Shibir supporters who hide their identities, appearing as BOT accounts. Secrecy itself is part of their organisational strategy," he added.

Shibir's GS candidate SM Farhad denied involvement, calling the claims politically motivated. 

"Our organisation has no such involvement with this kind of activity. Rather these allegations are politically motivated," he said.

Women candidates said the harassment has spread beyond the university, involving actors from multiple political camps. 

"Ali Husen's rape threat was not confined to Dhaka University alone, it has spread across the country through social media," said another left-leaning AGS candidate, Adite Islam.

Regarding Ali Husen's political ties, BM Fahmida accused, "There is no denying that he is a member and supporter of a secret organisation, as his Facebook profile clearly shows extensive connections with the organisation."

If university stays silent, who will protect women candidates?

Victims expressed frustration over the lack of strict action from the university administration. Some argued that DU has historically ignored women's issues, restricting female students from raising their political voice – even after their prominent role in the 2024 July Uprising.

Others noted the absence of strong policies or specialised mechanisms to address violence or harassment against women. 

Bangladesh Democratic Students Council-backed candidate Taposhi Rabeya said, "There is no place to file a complaint, no body to assure an investigation will be carried out. We need a platform or a body of law."

In response, Professor Mohammad Jasim Uddin, the chief returning officer for the Ducsu election, said the administration is determined to stop harassment. 

Complaints have been filed with the BTRC and DMP cyber cell, and alleged perpetrators are being identified, with disciplinary measures to follow under the code of conduct.

However, some remain skeptical about these steps. BM Fahmida questioned whether a six-month expulsion for Ali Husen would truly rehabilitate him or change his perspective toward women.

 She said, "The university administration, in fact, has much more to do in this regard. Offenders must be brought under mental counseling and corrective measures, while at the same time, the university must support female victims in overcoming their trauma. Also a women-friendly environment in the campus should be ensured by the administration."

Samina Luthfa, a Sociology professor, stressed the importance of institutional action and accountability. 

"For the sake of the university's own interest, the administration must act. The campus charter provides the framework for disciplinary measures, and it is the administration's responsibility to enforce them. The university must be made to do so." 

She added, "Next comes individual accountability. Punishment can be imposed in both academic and legal spheres. If an individual is able to carry out these actions because of their political affiliation, then their organisation must also be brought under the scope of accountability. 

"There are multiple ways to do this, through which criminal activities can be significantly reduced, if not almost entirely eliminated."

Beyond politics, a deep-rooted prejudice

Harassment of women candidates in student politics reflects longstanding patriarchal attitudes in Bangladesh, stretching from top party leadership to grassroots politics.

Rasheda Raunak Khan, professor of anthropology at DU, emphasised the strategic use of character attacks. 

"Character assassination has always been a powerful weapon against women. The same is happening in student politics. But this time, the notable point is that the number of women contesting DUCSU has significantly increased."

Indeed, 62 of 471 candidates this year are women, more than double the number in 2019.

Students note that this surge has encouraged more women to join politics spontaneously but has also heightened male anxieties, fueling targeted cyberbullying.

Rasheda highlighted how positions of power trigger gendered attacks: "When the issue is about positions of power, there is no male or female. Every weapon is used to defeat rivals. If the opponent is a woman, it becomes easier to target her character to weaken her."

Echoing the structural challenge, Nuzia Hasin stressed the broader exclusion women face in student politics. 

"The political arena and elections are widely perceived as a male-dominated space. So women have no such space even in a university."