The interim government’s silence over misogyny is tragic
To say we are like Alice hurtling down the rabbit hole with no clue where we are headed would be a euphemism. We are actually in freefall into an abyss with quiet acquiescence, taking the hits with silent resignation. There is chaos and dissent in every corner and no one seems to have a grip on anything.
What has been most crushing and baffling is the silence of the interim government regarding the blatant misogyny publicly displayed—in rallies, mob violence, and online propaganda. Certain sections have decided that the current sense of freedom granted to them due to political expediency or fear—or both—has given them the licence to vent all their venom on women who dare to even speak of their rights as equal citizens.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. It's not like we didn't know about these groups. Over the past decade or so, we have seen how emboldened these groups have become, how they have multiplied, and how easily they spew hatred against women and use religion to justify their hatred. Now, under the guise of freedom of expression and emboldened by a tacit indulgence from the government, they are amplifying the voices of hate and drowning out the voices of reason.
This is tragic considering the mandate with which this government came to power: to lead the country to democracy and freedom. The enthusiasm with which the chief adviser accepted the final report of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission was unquestionable. One could not mistake the obvious delight on the faces in that photo-op with the commission members that included prominent rights activists. The chief adviser even instructed all relevant ministries and divisions to act swiftly on the commission's recommendations aimed at ending gender discrimination. He said, "This is not merely a women's issue; it is a matter of national significance. The report will be printed, widely distributed, and published in book form, like a textbook, to ensure accessibility." All this pointed to real change, and nothing could have been more refreshing.
So, when the commission was viciously reviled at a rally called by Hefazat-e-Islam, which demanded its total demolition because they deemed certain recommendations to be against religion, the least that was expected was a statement of condemnation from the one person you would think was a great champion of women's rights: Prof Muhammad Yunus. But this did not happen even though this was a commission that he had wanted and thought was so necessary.
Other groups have also asked for the commission and its recommendations to be scrapped. This wholesale dismissal of the work of a commission, which has painstakingly chalked out possible ways to remove various kinds of discrimination that impedes women's fundamental rights, demonstrates a political agenda: to create a narrative that religion is being attacked. Apart from the fact that one of the most contentious recommendations, which was to do with equal inheritance rights, has been provided as an option rather than compulsory, the outburst of rage from certain groups was both exaggerated and unnecessary. Like in all the other commissions, these are just proposals and are open to discussions with various stakeholders. Holding mammoth rallies and publicly denouncing a commission and humiliating its members was completely unwarranted and created an unsafe, hostile environment for women.
The silence continued when Nadira Yeasmin, assistant professor of Bangla at Narsingdi Government College, was made officer on special duty (OSD) because she had advocated equal inheritance rights for men and women through an online magazine she edits and publishes. Groups including Hefazat demonstrated on the college campus demanding her dismissal, claiming that her views contradict Islamic inheritance laws. And shockingly, she was made OSD and transferred to Satkhira.
So why didn't the interim government, or more importantly its chief, who has always stood up for women's rights, intervene and stop this injustice? How much influence do these groups have that they get the administration to professionally punish a teacher merely for her expressing an opinion?
If this is freedom of expression, we would like to know why this freedom is the privilege of only those who hide their hate in religious rhetoric. It seems if you can invoke religion, you can say the vilest, most undemocratic words in human language. But that is not all. It looks like groups that have politicised religion have the power to trash a women's affairs reform commission, transfer teachers, change vice-chancellors, and even change the history of this nation.
Our constitution, the one born out of a bloody, hard-won independence, states explicitly in Article 28 (2), "Women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and of public life." If it is democracy that this interim government is working towards, they must ardently uphold this principle and loudly object when it is being violated. It is the least we can expect from a leader as progressive as Prof Yunus.
Aasha Mehreen Amin is joint editor at The Daily Star.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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