'Govt created commission, they should not be silent'
Right after the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission submitted its recommendations to the interim government on 19 April, a wave of backlash erupted, particularly from the right-wing pressure group Hefazat-e-Islam. The proposals, which included equal inheritance rights, legal recognition for sex and domestic workers, and tougher laws against sexual harassment, triggered outrage from Hefazat, culminating in a mass rally on 3 May where members of the group hurled abuses at the members of the commission and demanded that it be disbanded. A writ petition was filed the next day, despite the fact that no law had been enacted — only proposals submitted. Though Hefazat has since issued a partial apology for the offensive language used, they remain firm in their rejection of the report and continue to brand women’s rights as a Western plot propagated by “NGO-fuelled feminists”. The Business Standard spoke to women’s rights experts and activists to unpack the deeper implications of this reaction and what it reveals about the state of women’s rights discourse in Bangladesh
Syeda Nilima Dola
Member, National Citizen Party
Hefazat-e-Islam has written an apology and expressed regret. We welcome their apology, but we request them to enter into conversations in a more civil manner in the future.
Firstly, when a large group of people congregate together and speak in such vitriolic and abusive ways about women, this has an impact on society and on women. It festers and propagates hate, causing more problems for women. It increases violence against women. We accept their apology but our notice will reach their office in accordance with the law.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Secondly, I personally do not believe someone who is a devout Muslim should act in such hateful ways toward women. This is awful behaviour. So, I urge them to have civil conversations and public debates with women about their issues.
Furthermore, I want to say that it has been a while that the interim government has been in power, and we have seen many things, many things worked and many did not. But my opinion is that the government should not be silent here.
It is the government that created the Women's Affairs Reform Commission and it is the government who asked the women of the committee to submit a report. And now the women are being verbally abused. People have accepted the reports of all the other reform commissions that have submitted their reports, but they are not accepting this one, this is laughable.
The government should sit with these groups and have more discussions. We cannot achieve any solutions like this. The government should mediate between the two sides and have proper communications.
Syeda Nilima Dola was among the six women who served a legal notice to the Hefazat-e-Islam for its members using derogatory remarks to refer to members of the Women Affairs Reform Commission. She spoke to TBS' Alhan Arsal over the phone.
