On Facebook, they open up

A number of women alleged that they had been sexually harassed by groups of men on crowded streets of Dhaka yesterday.

“My two hands could not prevent so many hands grabbing my body. Finally, a police officer rescued me from the gang of molesters, stopped a bus and put me in it … ,” wrote a female student on Facebook.

She was allegedly harassed in Bangla Motor area by a group of people marching towards Shahbagh.

Describing her ordeal, she said that she walked to Bangla Motor from Shantinagar as she could not get on any buses.

“Soon after reaching Bangla Motor, I was caught in the middle of a procession. Around 15 to 20 people surrounded me and then the most obvious thing happened,” the woman wrote.

She said she was physically well but mentally devastated. She wanted to leave the country.

The woman later removed the post.

On social media, at least seven other women alleged sexual harassment during the Awami League's rally yesterday.

About the Bangla Motor incident, Maruf Hossain Sardar, deputy commissioner of DMP (Ramna division),  told The Daily Star that no one filed any complaint regarding the incident.

“We came to know about it through journalists,” he said, adding that they could not identify the police officer who rescued the girl.

Talking to The Daily Star, a student of Dhaka University said a group of people heading towards Shahbagh, surrounded her in a pincer move near Karwan Bazar.

“They groped me for about a minute, some tried to pull off my scarf whilst going past me,” she said, adding that some policemen were seen nearby, but they did not come forward.

A DU student of Science faculty wrote, “After being hurled with abuse near Shahid Minar, when I came in front Fine Arts Institute by rickshaw, a group of boys sprayed water on me. I was nearly drenched.

“When I showed my anger, someone pulled my hair from behind and ran away.”

She added, “It is unfortunate that I have been harassed in my own campus.”

Similar accounts of harassment were also shared by at least five DU female students.

DU proctor Prof Golam Rabbani could not be reached over phone for comments.