On Saturday (31st January), the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman stirred the hornet’s nest after he compared women in positions of leadership to prostitutes.
The development came weeks ahead of the nationwide election in Bangladesh, which is scheduled to take place on 12th February.
In a now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) post, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief remarked, “On the question of women, Jamaat’s position is neither confused nor apologetic- it is principled. We do not think, women should come in the leadership. In Jamaat, it is impossible. Allah did not permit this.”
“We believe that when women are pushed out of the home in the name of modernity, they are exposed to exploitation, moral decay, and insecurity. It’s nothing but another form of prostitution,” he brazened out.
Shafiqur Rahman did not stop here and further claimed, “Social media vulgarity, workplace harassment, and commodification of women are not signs of progress-they are symptoms of moral collapse. We refuse to compromise with immorality, no matter how fashionable it becomes”
Following his derogatory remarks about women, protests broke out in several parts of Bangladesh.
In a bid to control the damage, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief on Sunday (1st February) alleged that his X (formerly Twitter) account was allegedly hacked.
He claimed, “They are trying to tarnish our campaign through false news and by hacking social media, and let us be clear about who they are. The very party attempting to smear us today is the same party whose activists attacked the hijab, violated the honour of our mothers and sisters, and physically beat and threatened women in public.”
“We have a long history of respecting women, honouring their dignity and standing beside them as equal partners in society. Our policies are built to protect women, to ensure their safety and to recognise their central role in building Bangladesh. A nation that disrespects its women cannot move forward,” Rahman said in his defence.
It must be mentioned that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami played a critical role in committing unpseakable atrocities on women, particularly those belonging to the Hindu faith, alongside the Pakistan army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
