Presenter Dipty Chowdhury has strongly condemned the alleged physical assault and harassment of actress Azmeri Haque Badhan in Venice, Italy, saying she was targeted because she is an ordinary citizen, a woman and has no political backing.
In a Facebook post late Tuesday night, Dipty identified four reasons she believes made Badhon an easy target and expressed concern over the treatment of Bangladeshi artists abroad.
“Azmeri Haque Badhan’s crime was that she took a stand during a mass uprising that did not align with the ideology of the people seen in the video, along with thousands of others,” Dipti wrote.
She said Badhon had taken to the streets to protest the killing of children by the state and had also changed her profile picture to red in solidarity with the movement.
“Badhon has no political protection. Badhon is an ordinary person, a woman. That is why she is the easiest target,” she wrote.
Expressing her anger over the alleged incident, Dipty said those currently in government are all claiming the identity of July fighters, while ordinary citizens without political connections are being subjected to labels such as “July terrorist”.
She questioned whether political parties that claim credit for the July uprising would stand beside people like Badhon beyond simply acknowledging their support for the movement.
“Supporting our major movement by saying ‘well done’ is one thing, but protecting someone as a fellow fighter is another,” she wrote.
Dipty also questioned the role of political parties competing over their claim to the July uprising.
“I am waiting to see what action the political parties fighting over their share in July will take on this matter,” she wrote.
Badhan travelled to Venice with her brother and his family to attend the international film festival in connection with Rubaiyat Hossain’s The Difficult Bride.
The film made history as the first Bangladeshi feature to compete in the Orizzonti section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
Its world premiere took place at Sala Darsena at 2:15pm local time on 6 September.
The Difficult Bride stars Zaineen Chowdhury Karim, Rikita Nondine Shimu, Sunerah Binte Kamal and Azmeri Haque Badhan in its four central female roles. The film is directed by Rubaiyat Hossain.
