Cowardice, plain and simple

"We respect women."

"We honour mothers and sisters."

"We will work on empowering women."

Every party says it. Every leader repeats it. It's written into manifestos, declared from stages, posted on International Women's Day with flowery fonts and filtered photos. We listen and commend them despite a nagging suspicion that not all of them are sincere, that for some, these pronouncements are nothing but a mask of civility.

But on May 28, in Chattogram, that mask slipped.

A woman, protesting with dozens of others, was kicked from the back so violently that she collapsed. Another woman's head was split open, as she was left bleeding on the floor outside the press club.

This did not happen in a remote alley or under the cover of night. It happened in public. In front of the police.

So, save your speeches. We saw what "respect" really looks like, when it's not being rehearsed on stage.

What kind of a human kicks another in the back? What kind of system allows them to do such a thing and walk away? What kind of country talks of reform while letting women bleed during a protest?

This was targeted violence, against women, by men who knew exactly what they were doing.

It does not matter which organisation or political party the victims belonged to. It doesn't matter what the protest was about. There is no ideology, no party, no provocation that justifies a boot to the back of a woman protesting on the streets.

As we saw on a video clip, she was beaten like she did not amount to anything. Like she didn't matter. Like she didn't belong.

And we sit and debate over who started it, as if that matters any more.

This is not the first time.

We saw it during the July 2024 uprising in Dhaka.

Another woman. Another crowd. Another assault. That girl's bloodied, fearful face, her broken glasses, her pain became a symbol of everything we said we would never allow again.

The very protesters who used that photo and that story to bring down o regime, have recreated the same photo themselves, now that the tables seem to have turned.

To those who raised attacked these women, I ask: Have you forgotten who stood before you like so many shields in July?

They had run to you to wipe the blood off your forehead. They stood between you and the police van, refusing to let them drag you away. Maybe she handed you her bottle of water, because you were dehydrated from screaming for justice.

And now you repay her with a kick on the back?

Now you split her head open with a brickbat?

Sure, men were assaulted too, yesterday.

Violence is unacceptable and must be condemned.

But we must also admit, the brutality aimed at women carries a deeper insult. It always sends the same message: "You don't belong here. Do not speak or you will be punished."

That message was loud and clear in Chattogram.

[Arafat Rahaman is a Journalist at The Daily Star. He can be reached at [email protected]]