When multiple videos of a group led by a man named Muhammad Farokul Islam attacking women at the sea beach and Lal Dighi areas of Cox's Bazar on September 11 surfaced, Facebook was taken up by a storm.
One video shows Farokul, brandishing a stick, verbally abusing a woman at the beach and making her perform sit-ups while holding her ears. The same group also went up to a woman who was seated on a beach chair, in another incident. She kept saying, “I am just a tourist, what is my fault?” but they insisted she leave after asking what she was doing so late at night. In a third video, a woman is seen weeping and pleading with police officers outside a restaurant at Sugandha Beach for assistance in getting her cell phone back, which the group had taken.
Muhammad Farokul Islam posted these videos on Facebook rather boastfully, priding himself in having harassed these women. According to Farokul, these women deserved such treatment due to “being alone at night” and “being dressed inappropriately.” The internet moral police chimed in to agree with him and further degraded these women, falsely claiming that they are prostitutes. In addition, people also commented that these women had earned the harassment they faced due to their actions.
But what actions are the public referring to? These women were doing nothing but simply existing. For millennia, self-righteous people have been obsessed with women's behaviour, their permissible or inappropriate attire, and the spaces they should or should not occupy.
These groups justify violence against women as being “for the good of the society.” These individuals or groups have been able to get away with verbal and physical abuse of women by weaponizing religion. Men and, regrettably, women alike, who like to be society’s moral police, take it upon themselves to physically abuse and humiliate women who they believe do not fit their preconceived notions of what an acceptable woman ought to look like.
Hate speech against women is most frequently seen on social media. Groups who have a perverted obsession with women and their bodies are revealed online by the offensive and vulgar comments made in the comments section of posts or videos featuring women.
Moral policing frequently entails stringent social control over the conduct, demeanour, and whereabouts of women
Unfortunately, the rot goes far beyond moral policing, and is deeply ingrained into the legal system as well. At the Narsingdi train station in 2022, a woman attacked a girl for wearing jeans and a crop top. A mob gathered around her, supporting the attacker, who also attacked two of her male friends, forcing her to seek safety at the station master's office. At the apprehension of the culprit, the High Court bench itself questioned why the girl had worn those clothes and gone to the railway station.
But is this really how the law is supposed to be in this country? Not according to the constitution. These acts of moral policing and harassment are in direct violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution such as Article 26 -- which states that laws conflicting with fundamental rights are void); Article 27 -- which guarantees equality before the law; and Article 28 -- which prohibits discrimination based on factors like sex or religion.
However, not quite surprisingly, this isn’t reflected in our current legal system. In fact, according to Farokul, the local law enforcement of Cox’s Bazaar was supportive of his “actions in good faith of society.” Proof of this can also be seen in one of the videos, where the woman was begging the police officers to help retrieve her phone from Farokul’s group, but the police were simply sitting and doing nothing.
At this point, moral policing has delved deeper into our society and turned into systematic oppression. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), moral policing frequently entails stringent social control over the conduct, demeanour, and whereabouts of women. This can normalize the notion that women are in charge of shielding themselves from victimization. This creates an environment where sexual violence is downplayed or excused, while societal focus remains on regulating women's conduct rather than addressing the root causes of violence.
The sole existence of a woman is a crime, and dare she try to live her life, it is a rebellion. Even if a woman is a prostitute (prostitution is legal in Bangladesh), nobody has the right to violate her private space and autonomy. Women’s contribution in this society is no less than a man’s, and therefore they deserve to live their lives as they please and be respected as such. Even after significant participation of women in the workforce, at home, and in politics; women are still treated as second class citizens.
It's time to resist the harmful culture of moral policing and harassment that Bangladeshi women must endure on a daily basis. Every woman should be able to live her life without worrying about being judged or attacked. By opposing victim-blaming, showing solidarity with survivors, and calling for stricter legislation and safeguards for women's safety, we can fight detrimental norms that silence and oppress women.
SM Sharmin Jahan is an intern at Dhaka Tribune.
