‘Women are afraid’: Dhaka University professor calls women’s condition in Bangladesh ‘pathetic’

Zobaida Nasreen, a professor at Dhaka University

Zobaida Nasreen, a professor at Dhaka University who was a prominent voice in last year's student protest movement she has now raised serios concerns about the deteriorating situation for women in Bangladesh in an interview with News18.

She is currently on a scholarship program in Germany and described the situation as "pathetic," highlighting how women are facing growing threats and social intimidation for speaking out in support of their rights.

While talking about the current situation of the women in the country she said, "Women are afraid. Many have started changing the way they dress not because of any legal requirement, but because of mounting social pressure. The psychological and social pressure is immense. They are living in constant fear and under significant stress."

Nasreen highlighted role played by women in the last year's protest and how the sudden shift happened in the attitude toward them.

"This is part of a broader effort to reverse the gains made by the women’s movement in Bangladesh. During last year’s protests, women participated in large numbers—even in the middle of the night, wearing whatever they had on. At that time, no one objected. But now, those same women are being targeted with abusive language and harassment."

"I also believe that the NCP (National Citizen Party) is complicit in this. Their silence is telling—they have not spoken out against this backlash, which indirectly supports the targeting of women" she further added.

After the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the formation of the current Muhammad Yunus-led government, a women’s affairs commission had submitted draft recommendations.

Speaking on the current state of those proposals, activist Nasreen said, "The recommendations put forward by the women’s commission, intended to improve the status of women in the country, have been outright rejected by fundamentalist groups. Worse, those who served on the committee are now being openly threatened and defamed, with many labelled as ‘sex workers’ to silence and discredit them."