Bangladeshis flood social media with posts protesting sexual harassment

Bangladeshis have flooded social media with posts protesting against sexual harassment of women during Bengali New Year celebrations.

Many have demanded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention, criticising the ‘inaction’ of police and Dhaka University authorities.

On last Tuesday, a group of youth sexually harassed women in public in front of the gates of Suhrawardy Udyan and TSC on Dhaka University campus during the Pahela Baishakh festival.

Police are yet to identify the harassers.

One Urmi Rubina wrote in Faceboook, “...New evidences of the sexual harassment at TSC are resurfacing every day. And I see that the government has nothing to say about the large number of crimes committed in Bangladesh.

“I want to raise Liton Nandi’s question again – what is the benefit of having such a large police force with the taxes we pay, 19 CCTV cameras? Is the proctor being paid to play chess?”

Dhaka University unit chief of Students Union Liton Nandi fractured his arm while stopping the unruly youths.

Lux Channel-i Superstar Mumtaheena Buni Toya in a video post said, “...Restrained yourself before asking us (women) to be in veil. Check your eyes. Girls come on. Don’t look for help from others. Protect yourselves. Stand firm wherever you are.”

Hifazat-e Islam chief Shah Ahmed Shafi reportedly suggested women to avoid such celebrations after the incident at TSC.

Asmaul Husna Muniya in her video post said, “Now we don’t have the freedom we achieved in 1971. We are not free even in 2015. In 1971, we were assaulted by foreigners and now by people of our country.”

Addressing the prime minister, the post said, “as a woman and a mother tell us what should be done.”

She urged Hasina to bring those responsible for the incident to justice.

Aratrika Rosy suggested women to keep pins with them to ward off the harassers as ‘this small thing can do what the state, any organisation or a man cannot do’.

A page Bangladeshism shared some photos of the incident and urged all to help identify the harassers.

Golam Hossain Habib wrote, “I don’t want to prove myself a great sympathiser of women. But I understand if men ever had to undergo an iota of what women face in their lives, then they would have deluged everyone with their lamentation.”

(The posts are roughly translated from Bengali)