Chhatra Dal protests at Dhaka University against harassment of female students

The group demands the expulsion of a student who allegedly made a gang rape threat against a female DUCSU candidate

The Dhaka University chapter of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has held a protest march against what it calls the continuous cyberbullying of female students across Bangladesh by activists of the Islami Chhatra Shibir.

They marched from the university’s TSC on Tuesday afternoon and later gathered outside the Vice-Chancellor's Office, shouting slogans against women’s harassment and demanding the expulsion of Ali Hussain, who is alleged to have harassed a female DUCSU candidate.

Ruqayyah Hall Chhatra Dal Convenor Sraboni said a student of Dhaka University cannot openly threaten another peer with gang rape and women must be kept safe in politics.

Chhatra Dal’s Shamsun Nahar Hall chapter Convenor Bithi Hasan said that women in politics are victims of cyberbullying.

"A certain group wants to hold us back. The participation of female students in the DUCSU election has also been low. Our security must be ensured."

Sheikh Tanvir Bari Hamim, the Chhatra Dal-backed general secretary candidate, said that female students are being discouraged from voting.

"An organisation that talks about women's safety in the name of Islam is the one harassing them. The university administration has left loopholes that allow the postponement of the DUCSU election. The administration has not yet taken action against Ali Hussain. The students of Dhaka University will show a red card to those who are conspiring to postpone DUCSU polls and the general election."

Abidul Islam Khan said, "After the 5th of August, a secret organisation that is ashamed to identify itself has taken away women's freedom of dress and speech. A student named Ali Hussain has threatened a fellow student with rape on the soil of Dhaka University. The university administration and the state have not taken even the slightest action against him.

“We urge the university administration and the state to quickly arrest him. He should be disciplined academically."

Following the protest, Chhatra Dal activists held a sit-in outside the Vice-Chancellor's Office.