BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday alleged that Jamaat-Shibir activists are repeatedly threatening female BNP workers and subjecting them to physical and psychological harassment both online and offline.
He made the allegations at a press conference at the BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan, Dhaka, where several affected female party workers were present.
Rizvi said a political party’s so-called bot network is using religion to spread obscene and derogatory remarks about women on social media, adding that the BNP believes people will not be misled by what he described as the covert activities of a clandestine group.
He further said Jamaat has no female candidates contesting parliamentary seats this time and warned that women would be the most affected if the party came to power. Rizvi noted that the party’s ameer has publicly stated that the head of his party can never be a woman.
Questioning the party’s intentions, Rizvi said its leaders appear confused about their objectives and may be deliberately creating confusion to implement a hidden agenda. He pointed out that a party leader had earlier said women’s working hours would be reduced but later denied making such comments in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Rizvi said such contradictory statements are creating public confusion. He noted that women make up 55% of the workforce in the garment sector and questioned whether men bear no responsibility in child-rearing. He asked where such statements are intended to take society in the modern age.
Jahangirnagar University professor Nahrin Islam said a particular political party wants women confined to their homes and described it as anti-women for promoting such a narrative. She alleged that the party exploits women to seek votes and to sell what she termed “tickets to heaven.”