Bangladeshi Women Fight Back Patriarchal Backlash: Need For Regional Solidarity Stressed
Shireen Huq, chair of the reform commission and founder of Naripokkho, said, “We had an uprising, a regime change, but the culture of misogyny, the brutalisation of women, and the public assertion of male dominance, all remain intact and hegemonic.”

The growing resistance to feminist causes in Bangladesh and its implications for the broader struggle for women’s rights across South Asia, catalysing the need for greater solidarity and collaboration in the region, came into focus at an online seminar on June 29, organised by the Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan).
The discussion, titled “Patriarchal Backlash: Bangladeshi Women Speak Out”, part of the organisation’s new series on gender, power, and resistance in South Asia drew activists, scholars and civil society leaders from Bangladesh, the greater region, and diaspora.
Watch the full discussion here
Panelists highlighted how conservative and religious forces are mobilising to prevent women from attaining their due rights, especially focusing on the fierce reaction to proposals made by the interim government’s Women's Affairs Reform Commission. They also discussed strategies to resist this mounting patriarchal pressure.
Shireen Huq, chair of the reform commission and founder of Naripokkho, said, “We had an uprising, a regime change, but the culture of misogyny, the brutalisation of women, and the public assertion of male dominance, all remain intact and hegemonic.”
“The irony of it is that it was thousands of young women who actually led the protests in many cases. But once things started to settle down... suddenly, we saw that these women kind of disappeared from public view, except for a handful,” she added.
“After Hasina was overthrown, there appeared mobs that targeted women,” said Dr Fawzia Moslem, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad. “They started moral policing, humiliating women in front of everybody.”
She added that there was no significant protest against this from both the society and government. “So, this left women in a vulnerable position.”
Maheen Sultan, member of the reform commission and head of Gender & Social Transformation Cluster, BIGD, Brac University, said, “Though it was the right wing that was vocal on the streets... unfortunately, this reaction was not just limited to them.”
“We've seen this in our previous research as well, that you can't just target right-wing religious groups.” Sultan said, explaining that these patriarchal ideas are “in the community, sometimes in the family, in different institutions, and among women themselves”.
Regarding the exclusion of women post-regime change, artist-activist Shakila Khatun said, “It is alarming that, while we took part in the July uprising, we cannot represent ourselves in the organisations that formed from that very event.”
Researcher, writer and publisher Urvashi Butalia hosted the event, while feminist activist and founder member of Sapan, Khawar Mumtaz moderated the discussion.
Participants included activist and educationist Lalita Ramdas in India, and UK-based economist Naila Kabeer, who emphasised that these issues are not confined to Bangladesh or Muslim-majority countries, but are prevalent throughout the region and beyond. The discussion underlined the need for solidarity and regional collaboration.
Sapan brings together individuals and organisations in South Asia and the diaspora across all kinds of borders and barriers — caste, class, religion, nationality, politics — for a minimum common agenda: Southasia peace. Writing Southasia as one word to highlight the area’s shared history, geography and culture, Sapan advocates for freedom of trade, travel, and tourism within the region, upholding human rights and dignity, and collaboration in all areas.
(By special arrangement with Sapan)
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