A woman has staged a solo protest at the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University after being harassed on a bus, calling such incidents a “social disease” and seeking to raise awareness.
Sidratul Muntaha Rahman Tibro held the protest at the base of the sculpture around on Tuesday, with several like-minded individuals joining in solidarity.
Tibro told Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday that she was harassed on Monday while traveling to Shahbagh on a Ramjan Paribahan bus. She filed a complaint at Dhanmondi Model Police Station, and the alleged perpetrator was handed over to authorities.
Explaining her protest, Tibro said: “These kinds of sexual harassment incidents happen constantly, and we’re not seeing any resolution. When we go to the police, they tell us there’s essentially no legal action available for these types of cases. I mainly held this awareness protest to let people know that this is a crime.”
She added, “From talking to the perpetrator and his people, what I gathered about their mindset is that incidents like sexual harassment are completely normal to them.”
Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge at Dhanmondi Model Police Station confirmed to Dhaka Tribune, “Based on the written complaint Tibro filed with us, we have taken legal action against the accused.”
