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A string of attacks on and harassment of women that has taken place after the August 5, 2024 political changeover largely go unattended, creating a fearful situation and instilling a sense of insecurity.

Women from different backgrounds, especially players, athletes, celebrities and sex workers, have been attacked and harassed by certain right-wing groups, including ‘tawhidi janata’ that has recently come up as a phenomenon.

Even the  Bangla Academy on February 6 closed two stalls in the Ekushey book fair ground that were offering reproductive healthcare products amid protests by such a group.

The protesters demanded that private products such as sanitary napkins could not have a public display and sales.

The academy later explained the stall closure on grounds of rules violation, noting that the products would be distributed free at the toilets.

Experts, including rights activists and lawyers, note that the recurrence of the incidents stems from the absence of adequate legal action.

They fear that the situation may worsen if the government does not to take stringent measures against the perpetrators.

‘We see that the women who were actively engaged in the uprising have largely disappeared after the political changeover,’ Supreme Court lawyer Sara Hossain said.

‘Now, their social and daily life is thwarted. This is completely unacceptable, especially after the anti-discrimination movement,’ she said.

Several women have, meanwhile, said that they do not feel safe in public space and are avoiding going out after evening.

‘I try to finish my job by the daytime so that I don’t need to go out in the  evening,’ said Azana Haque, a freelancer who lives at Dhanmondi.

Two women’s football matches could not happen in Dinajpur and Jaipurhat on January 28 in the face of attacks by Islamists. At least four became injured in the attack at Hakimpur in Dinajpur.

In Jaipurhat, local people along with madrassah teachers and students vandalised fences around the Tilakpur High School playground where the match was scheduled to take place.

The government condemned the incidents on January 30 and the Jaipurhat match took place on February 5.

But, an inter-district girls’ football match could not take place at Taraganj in Rangpur on February 6 amid protests reportedly by Islami Andolan Bangladesh. The administration had to order Section 144 to control the situation.

No case has so far been filed, police officials in the three districts said. The matches in Dinajpur and Rangpur could not be held.

The Jaipurhat superintendent of police Muhammad Abdul Wahab said that the match at Akkelpur was held after the protesters had sat with the administration and apologised, noting that the attack was the result of ‘misunderstanding.’

‘The government is not taking up the incidents seriously enough. The attackers in Jaipurhat apologised. But is an apology enough to resolve the issue?’ said Fauzia Moslem, president of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad.

Bangladesh has progressed in women’s development and such obstacles seem like putting restrictions on women’s movement, she said.

A man on August 29, 2024 attacked a former female sex worker, who now works as a field officer in a project for HIV prevention and treatment services for sex workers, and several other sex workers, at Shyamali in Dhaka. Another field worker was beaten by some unknown young people in the National Assembly Building area the same day.

‘Attacks were carried out in many other areas — at Uttara, Jurain, Shahbagh and Kamalapur. After the uprising, 1,500 to 2,000 sex workers have been attacked across the country,’ said Rina Aktar, who has been working with sex workers since 2013.

She alleged that she and a victim, from Shyamali, had gone to the Mohammadpur police to file a case, but the officer-in-charge had refused to record the complaint. Similar incidents also took place with Shahbagh, Paltan and Jatrabari police stations.

The Mohammadpur police officer-in-charge, Iftakar Hasan, however, brushed aside the allegation, saying that no one had gone to the station house to file such a complaint since he was posted there on August 25.

‘Such attacks also took place in the Awami League’s tenure. But, the number has now increased. Sex workers struggle to earn a living because they cannot work regularly in such a fearful situation,’ Rina said.

ZI Khan Panna, a senior lawyer, said, ‘The government either views these incidents as minor issues and chooses to avoid them or does not discourage such incidents while it does not encourage them.’

He said that these incidents were not family issues that could be resolved through negotiations. ‘Some issues cannot be settled this way.’

‘It should all be fair to both the parties even when negotiations take place. In the cases at hand, only one side seems to be satisfied,’ he said.

Actor Mehazabien Chowdhury was barred from attending a programme in Chattogram on November 2, 2024, Pori Moni in Tangail on January 25 and Apu Biswas at Kamrangirchar in Dhaka on January 29 in the face of resistance from ‘tawhidi janata’ and ‘certain groups’, as the media reported.

Supreme Court lawyer Miti Sanjana says that law enforcers largely appear unwilling to take action, perhaps influenced by a certain political ideology, making it difficult for both the citizens and the government.

She, however, stresses the need for identifying the perpetrators and ensure that all, irrespective of their political or ideological stance, are held to account for their involvement in such violence, attacks or harassment. ‘Failures to do so will encourage more such happenings.’