Thousands of members of an Islamist group protested proposed gender equality reforms in Bangladesh over the weekend.
It comes after the Bangladeshi Women’s Affairs Reform Commission proposed giving women more rights over property and inheritances, and decriminalising sex work.
The Commission also proposed banning polygamy — when one person has multiple spouses.
The Hefazat-e-Islam group say the recommendations violate Sharia law, and have committed to a nation-wide protest later this month.
Background
A 2020 report by UN Women and Monash University found misogynistic attitudes are widespread in Bangladesh, and that approximately half of Bangladeshi men believe women “seek special favours and preferential treatment under the guise of equality.”
Last year, the Bangladeshi Government collapsed following months of protests about a quota system for public service jobs.
The Government responded violently, with dozens of protesters killed before then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country.
An interim government was established in the aftermath, led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who has committed to holding elections next year.
In November 2024, the interim government established the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, tasked with giving recommendations to increase women’s participation in society and work.
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It handed down its final report last month, which recommended decriminalising sex work, introducing a quota for women in the country’s Parliament, and better enabling women to access inheritances and property.
Backlash
The Commission’s recommendations have been met with backlash, led by Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam.
The group was created in 2010 in response to an earlier push to increase women’s access to inheritances.
In the ensuing years, it has advocated for gender segregation in public, and called for Bangladesh to adopt Sharia (Islamic) law.
Over the weekend, the group led protests against the Commission’s proposals in Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka.
Hefazat-e-Islam member Mamunul Haque told the Associated Press the proposals were contrary to “the sentiments of the majority of the people of this country.”
Following the protests, the group launched a legal challenge against the recommendations in the country’s High Court, and called for the Commission to be disbanded.
It has threatened to hold nationwide protests this month if its demands are not met.
