A government primary school teacher who allegedly lost consciousness after the blast of a sound grenade during a teachers’ protest, has died on Sunday.
Fatema Akter breathed her last while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka on Sunday morning, eight days after the incident.
She was buried later that night at her husband’s home in Thakur Char in Chandpur’s North Matlab area.
Fatema was an assistant teacher at Jheniya Government Primary School in North Matlab. She is survived by her daughter, a twelfth-grader, and her son, who studies in class eight.
Md Shamsuddin Masud, convener of the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council and president of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, told TIMES of Bangladesh that Fatema had joined the pen-down programme at Shahbagh on 8 November.
“According to her colleagues, she fainted after repeated sound grenade explosions by police. Her husband later took her away in a state of panic,” he said.
Khairun Nahar Lipi, general secretary of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association, also confirmed that Fatema was injured by a sound grenade at the Shahbagh protest site. She said the victim’s husband, Md Soleman, is a teacher at a higher secondary school in Dhaka.
“After losing consciousness on 8 November, Fatema barely spoke to anyone. She died at the hospital on Sunday,” Lipi added.
Teacher leaders, citing family sources, said Fatema had been suffering from severe mental trauma since the incident and remained withdrawn until her death.
On 8 November, the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council brought out a procession from the Shaheed Minar towards Shahbagh with a three-point demand. Police intercepted them in front of Shahbagh Police Station, triggering a confrontation.
Teacher leaders alleged that police used sound grenades, water cannons, batons, and tear gas to disperse the crowd. They claimed that around 150 teachers were injured and five were arrested.
Teacher organisations have expressed deep sorrow over Fatema’s death and demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible.
Along with their condolence message, the protest platform on Monday called on all primary school teachers nationwide to wear black badges, hold prayers, and observe one minute of silence.
Leaders said they would finalise the next course of action on Monday, while teachers across the country have been expressing outrage in online groups.
