A former North South University student named Asif Mahtab is at the heart of controversy after he published a post on Facebook seeking to "explain the mentality of men."
However, this "scientific explanation" posted on Monday was fraught several logical fallacies, victim blaming and justifications for rape .
In his bid to “educate” a so called 35-year-old feminist, he wrote: “Why can’t women change their mentality (ie- wear what God almighty asked them to wear) instead of asking us (men) to change our mentality?
“If you (women) can’t change your mentality, at what right do you ask us to change ours?”
Screenshots of the lengthy list of bullet points swiftly went viral, triggering widespread public outcry over the sexist nature of the comments.
The Facebook status of Asif Mahtab that received public outrage
Accusing women of using “literally every technological resource to have men look at them,” Asif further wrote: “…when some says you (women) look beautiful. What s/he really means is you look symmetrical and fertile, ready for mating.”
Asif also blamed women’s use of lipstick, nail polish and foundation, claiming that it artificially boosts the sexual appeal of women by creating false symmetry and hiding their imperfections, which in turn makes men strongly attracted to them and lose self control.
In his opinion, eyelashes and uncovered hair also draw unwanted attention towards women. Asif, however, failed to back up his claims with any scientific data.
After posting about women, Asif took the battle to the comment section of his post.
Replies of Asif Mahtab on the comment section of his Facebook post
Asif wrote: “…as men we are biologically violent and destructive. If you look at history, the Vikings raped and killed. The Romans raped and killed.”
He continued: “I mean Vikings and most cultures throughout history did not consider rape of an enemy an immoral action. As a man I am not ashamed of my primal instincts. It is part of who I am. I try and control it.”
The post has since been deleted from his Facebook profile.
In response to the criticism, Asif published another post on his Facebook page on early Wednesday, where he highlighted that he had previously organized protests against rape.
