Bangladesh: Islamist group Hefazat demands dissolution of women’s reform commission

Recently, the group issued a 12-point declaration and even called for a nationwide protest on May 23.

The Islamist group demanded the formation of a new women's commission that will include Islamic scholars.

The declaration, read out on Saturday at a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan by the Hefazat's nayeb-e-ameer, Mahfuzul Haque, was quoted as saying by The Daily Star that women's social progress should not be dictated by Western values but instead be grounded in the country's religious and cultural traditions.

Bangladeshi women protesting in Dhaka during the July-August Uprising in 2024. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

The Islamist group also opposed including terms such as "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender equality," "gender discrimination," "third gender," and "other genders", arguing that these are used to promote LGBT and transgender.

Awami League

The Islamist group also called the ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's Awami League a 'terrorist organisation'.

It demanded that all activities of the Awami League, which had ruled Bangladesh for the longest time since the country was formed in 1971, should be banned until judicial proceedings are completed.

The Islamist group's declaration further called for laws prescribing the highest punishment for blasphemy against Allah and his messenger.

Bangladesh Political Transformation

Bangladesh witnessed a political transformation last year when former PM Sheikh Hasina fled to India amid massive violent protests against her government over a job quota row on August 5, 2024.

The movement came to be known as Bangladesh's July-August Uprising.

Hasina was the longest-serving PM of the South Asian nation.