Detention of Rinku: A delayed but correct message from the Yunus govt

The last few weeks in Dhaka and elsewhere have been a festival for the detractors of the interim government – the AL-sympathising trolls on social media as well as the pundits on Indian media – who are hell bent on convincing the world that Bangladesh is en route to becoming an 'Islamic State.' 

After all, Hasina had ruled roost for 15 years on the back of convincing the world that she was the only bulwark against Islamist forces in Bangladesh; and so, these recent developments neatly tied in with her narrative. 

First, you had the Lalmatia incident, where a middle-aged man assaulted two young women for smoking in public. 

Then you had the Tawhidi Janata laying siege to Shahbagh police station to 'free' a DU staff named Mostafa Asif Arnob, detained for harassing a DU female student for "not wearing her Orna properly". 

And then, most ominously, the massive rally by banned Islamist outfit Hizbut Tahrir.

What made these situations worse was the immediate reactions from interim government officials. 

First, you had the home adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury trying to convince us that smoking in public is illegal – even though smoking on open streets actually does not qualify as smoking in a public place, while also claiming the girls were smoking during Ramadan, even though the incident happened a day before that. 

Then you had the environment adviser, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, claiming the incident had been resolved after both sides had come to an 'understanding'. Keep in mind, such 'understanding' is interpreted as coercion in our society.

The fears that women's rights are being undermined and that Islamist forces are on the resurgence are, of course, not just propaganda. For the last 15 years, Sheikh Hasina, by becoming the self-styled patron of 'liberal' forces to mask her fascist regime, has pushed the genuine liberal forces in our country on the back foot. Given all this, it falls upon the Yunus-led government to stand up for the forces of a truly liberal Bangladesh – the same Bangladesh many of them espoused during their careers as NGO activists. 

In the Shahbagh incident, images of Tawhidi Janata garlanding the DU staff after he secured quickfire bail from the courts certainly struck fear in the hearts of everyone who would not like to see Bangladesh go down that route.

Interspersed between these incidents were one after another report of gruesome rape and murders of young women, all of which paint a haunting picture of the state of women's freedom in Bangladesh 2.0, in an environment where the voices of Islamist forces are growing louder and louder. 

Over the last few days, thousands of women and men have taken to the streets demanding stricter laws to punish such violence against women.

Amidst all this, the news of the detention of Rinku, the man who reportedly assaulted the two young women in Lalmatia, certainly comes as a breath of fresh air. 

There should be no place in Bangladesh for any individual or force who stands against the rights and freedoms of women, and the fact that the interim government, even if belatedly, recognised that, provides us all with a sense of reassurance. 

In fact, when you look closer (beyond the headlines) at the handling of these situations by the interim government – including the suspension of the DU staff pending investigation – it would appear they are quietly, almost stealthily, making the right decisions.

We would, of course, expect nothing less from a government led by Nobel laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus. After all, much of Dr Yunus's global fame comes from how his microcredit organisation helped empower rural Bangladeshi women. 

Within his cabinet are a number of individuals with years of experience struggling for women's rights. In fact, a much-touted criticism of this government is that it is an 'NGO Government' – well, it is the NGOs who have for years been accused by the Islamist forces of empowering women. It would be deeply disappointing if the Islamist forces were revitalised when we have an 'NGO government' in power. 

The fears that women's rights are being undermined and that Islamist forces are on the resurgence are, of course, not just propaganda. For the last 15 years, Sheikh Hasina, by becoming the self-styled patron of 'liberal' forces to mask her fascist regime, has pushed the genuine liberal forces in our country on the back foot. 

Some of them are too scared to speak up lest they be labelled an enabler of the Hasina regime.  When there is talk of elections and the future government, the traditionally centre-right BNP is now probably the most left political party on the ground, as everything left of BNP has become discredited for their dubious roles over the last 15 years. 

Then you have the murmurs and stories about the right and extreme right backgrounds of some of the student leaders of the July Uprising – all of which has made many people extremely nervous about the future direction of Bangladeshi society.

Given all this, it falls upon the Yunus-led government to stand up for the forces of a truly liberal Bangladesh – the same Bangladesh many of them espoused during their careers as NGO activists. 

After all, from 1971 to 2024, Bangladeshi women have played an indelible role in shaping our freedom struggles to create a nation where they share the same rights as men. The detention of Rinku, from that perspective, is a step in the right direction.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.