Bangladesh’s influential Islamist coalition has demanded the abolition of a authorities Women’s Commission, an additional indication of how hardline, religiously fuelled activism is strengthening after years of suppression.
The Women’s Commission is an element of efforts to reform techniques put in in the course of the iron-fisted rule of Shiekh Hasina, who was overthrown by student-led mass protests in August 2024.
Hefazat-e-Islam, a platform of spiritual seminaries, desires the cancellation of the Women’s Affairs Reforms Commission, arrange by the caretaker authorities of Nobel Peace prize winner Mohammed Yunus.
Azizul Haque Islamabadi, a senior Hefazat-e-Islam chief, stated the group opposed the commission’s advice for ending discriminatory provisions in opposition to girls.
“Ensuring equality is a Western ideology,” Mr. Islamabadi informed AFP.
“The commission recommended a uniform family code instead of Muslim family law, which governs inheritance, marriage, divorce, and other issues.”
Jamaat-E-Islami, the biggest Islamist political social gathering, additionally demanded the quick cancellation of the suggestions.
“Recommending initiatives to ensure equality between men and women is a malicious effort to distort Islamic ideology,” Mia Golam Parwar, secretary common of Jamaat, stated in a press release.
Mr. Yunus stated after the commission submitted its suggestions on April 19 that “women all over the world are looking at us”.
Hasina’s authorities was blamed for in depth human rights abuses and he or she took a tricky stand in opposition to Islamist actions throughout her 15-year rule.
She is in exile in India, refusing to return to Dhaka to face costs of crimes in opposition to humanity for the killing of tons of of protesters in the course of the unrest that toppled her authorities.
Bangladesh has seen a surge of open help for Islamist teams since her ouster.
Women, particularly, have expressed concern for the reason that cancellation of a number of women’s soccer matches, the vandalising of Sufi shrines and the blocking of a number of cultural occasions deemed “anti-Islamic”.
However, Shirin Parvin Haque, the top of the commission, stated they had been decided to press forward.
“Let them speak their minds,” Haque informed AFP.
“We have proposed recommendations we believe are best for upholding women’s rights, we will stick to that,” she stated.
Published – April 22, 2025 02:30 am IST
