Women have been fighting for their rights since 1848 and the recent global protest was the #MeToo movement in 2017, where women all over the world participated to fight for gender equality. These ideologies might not be accepted in certain countries, for example, Bangladesh, where fighting for women’s rights is deemed as colliding with their traditional and religious beliefs, seemingly being branded as “anti-Islamic”.
After last August’s political uproar, Bangladesh government formed a Women’s Reform Commission and this reform was proposed to criminalize marriage rape, to give equal parental and inheritance rights, to protect women, aiming for a less violent society. Although not all Bangladeshi men are against this reform, extreme Islamist groups, especially Hefazat-e-Islam, call the reform as Western laws.
The root of the issue is less about deep religious faith, but more about men holding onto misogynistic power. When thousands of men filled the streets declaring that women and men are not equal, shows that they are actively pushing women out of public life. They may sound defending Islam, but it looks a lot like they are trying to protect their own agendas.
Looking at their perspective, when women gain equal rights, men tend to feel they are losing control over family decisions, money or even in terms of women’s bodies. The harsh truth? There’s a rise in rapes and domestic violence; women do no longer feel safe whether it’s outside or even at home. It’s scary to think that women are being punished or attacked for wanting basic rights.
Bangladeshi women have always fought for change, even in big political moments, no matter the consequences they face. Now, it’s a moment of truth, the world is waiting for the government’s next move, will they fight for their women and daughters, or will their misogynistic mindset conquer?
Umi Moslimi (umibasyirahhm@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.