Two stalls of sanitary napkins were closed at the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela on Sunday, following objections that labelled them as a "private product" and called for their public display to be stopped.
Reportedly, “Stay-Safe,” a health protection brand of Pran-RFL Group, had been displaying and distributing sanitary napkins at their stalls in a corner of the fair to raise awareness among women.
However, a certain group objected to the sale of a “private product” at the fair.
Fearing a mob situation, the event management team, Dreamer Donkey, sent a letter to Pran-RFL, instructing them to replace sanitary napkins with other products at the stall.
Following this, the company removed the sanitary napkins from the fair.
Additionally, the two stalls were shut down.
The Bangla Academy said the decision was made because products other than books are not permitted for sale at the book fair.
However, the producers of “Stay-Safe” clarified that they were not selling napkins at the fair but distributing them for free.
A letter from the event management team requesting the removal of sanitary napkins from the stalls and replacing them with other products went viral on social media.
The letter, signed by Rakib Hasan, director and CEO of the event management company Dreamer Donkey, on Friday, said: “For your kind information, Pran-RFL Group’s women’s and children's health protection brand Stay-Safe has been operating two stalls at the book fair. Initially, there were no issues, but after February 11, several Islamist groups labelled sanitary napkins as a private product and demanded the cessation of their public display or sale.
"The following day, more people appeared with the same demand. Later, with the help of the Bangla Academy, police, Ansar, and event management volunteers, the situation was brought under control. When the stalls reopened on February 13, some groups directly lodged complaints with the Bangla Academy.”
The letter further stated: "At present, different issues are triggering mobs in various places across the country. To prevent such an unfortunate situation, it is essential to shut down these two stalls. Considering your business interests, you may be allowed to replace the stalls with other products (such as children’s educational materials) after discussions. In this regard, we request you to replace the stalls with alternative products through mutual discussion. Your cooperation is highly appreciated."
Copies of the letter were also sent to other relevant officials, including the director general of the Bangla Academy.
The viral letter bore the signature of Professor Mohammad Azam, director general of the Bangla Academy, who wrote: “I am aware of this situation. Immediate action is required.”
Rakib Hasan, director and CEO of Dreamer Donkey, confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Dhaka Tribune.
He said: “Since many women visit the book fair, we initially did not object to sanitary napkins being displayed at the stall to raise awareness about women’s health protection. However, when some people protested by calling it a ‘private product,’ we were compelled to request the concerned company to remove the napkins to avoid any unpleasant situation. They later removed their products.”
Regarding the closure of the stalls, Bangla Academy Secretary and Head of the Book Fair Taskforce Committee, Selim Reza, told a media outlet that: “Bangla Academy decided to close the two stalls because they were selling unauthorized products at the fair.”