Several student groups and activist organisations at Dhaka University and other campuses have issued strong condemnations after Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Ameer Shafiqur Rahman in a post on X linked women’s working outside their homes to “prostitution”.
The comment, widely described as offensive and discriminatory, set off a wave of protests, statements and demands for a public apology.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday night, student leaders aligned with Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal supported panels in Dhaka University hall unions called the post “extremely misogynistic, vulgar and insulting”.
They noted that millions of women contribute across education, health, administration, agriculture and the garments industry, adding that “to compare their professions to prostitution is extremely insulting for the entire women community”.
The group said the Constitution guarantees equal rights and that working at home or outside is a fundamental right.
Remarks of this nature, they said, “push society into medieval darkness” and harm the country’s image internationally.
They demanded that Shafiqur Rahman withdraw the comment and issue an unconditional apology.
On Sunday, activists from the Dhaka University and central committees of Chhatra Dal marched from Madhu’s Canteen before holding a brief assembly at Aparajeyo Bangla.
Protesters chanted “Shafiq tui khoma cha, nari noy patita” (Shafiq, seek apology; women are not prostitutes) and “desher shokti ordhek nari” (half of the country’s strength come from women).
Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam Rakib said their core demand was a public apology.
“If he does not apologise, we will be compelled to announce a broader programme,” he said.
He argued that any political strength for Jamaat would be “a threat not only for women but for the country’s future”.
Chhatra Dal General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir rejected claims that Shafiqur’s account had been hacked, saying “his mindset got exposed”.
Referring to Shafiqur’s electoral record, he said it was clear that “people of his own area no longer accept him”.
Other student organisations issued similar reactions. Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Socialist Student Front said the remark was “highly offensive, insulting for working women and a reflection of Jamaat’s long-held mindset”.
heir statement highlighted women’s share of the population and their presence in the garments sector, warning that comments of this kind could create “obstacles and grounds for harassment”.
They linked the latest remark to earlier controversial statements by Jamaat leaders and framed it within a longer ideological history reaching back to the wartime period.
At Dhaka University, a group of female students brought out a procession near the Raju sculpture on Sunday afternoon.
Carrying brooms, they chanted slogans such as “boycott boycott Jamaat ameer boycott” and “nari bidbeshir dui gale jhadu maro tale tale”.
Speakers said the Jamaat ameer’s comment was part of a pattern of online harassment and showed “a misogynistic mindset”.
A leaders of the procession said the pattern of such comments “is not an isolated incident” and urged voters to respond through the ballot. They also demanded a public apology.
Pritilata Brigade released a statement describing the comment as “highly offensive” and a potential threat to working women in the future.
Its coordinator said similar attitudes from Jamaat leaders reflected an ingrained ideological position. Biplobi Chhatra Oikya called the remark “a naked expression of feudal, capitalist and religious fundamentalist fascist mentality”.
The group said such views aim to exclude women from production and politics. They dismissed the claims of hacking of the Jamaat ameer’s X account as an attempt to cover up and pointed to earlier statements by Shafiqur Rahman and other Islamist politicians as evidence of persistent discrimination.
At Jagannath University, students held a protest at the Shanto Chattor around noon, raising the same demands.
Female leaders of the campus Chhatra Dal unit joined the gathering. Farzana Akter Tumpa, president of Nawab Faizunnesa Chowdhurani Hall Chhatra Dal and cultural and publication secretary of the hall union, said they strongly condemn the Jamaat ameer’s indecent remarks about women.
Jamaat, meanwhile, said the party chief’s X account was targeted by a cyberattack. It issued an official statement and filed a general diary with the police.
