Bangladesh: Muslim Leader Likens ‘Working Women’ to Prostitutes

FEB 5, 2026 12:00 PM
BY ASHLYN DAVIS

Bangladesh is once again embroiled in a fierce national debate after Muslim leader Shafiqur Rahman, the chief of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, compared women working outside the home to “prostitution” in a social media post that was later deleted. The remarks, made as the country heads toward national elections, have triggered outrage across political parties and civil society, while also exposing how Bangladesh has been drifting toward an increasingly absolutist application of Islam in recent years, with religious zeal finding a renewed and expanding following across various sections of the population.

In the now-deleted post on X, Rahman wrote: “On the question of women, Jamaat’s position is neither confused nor apologetic — it is principled. We do not think women should come into leadership. In Jamaat, it is impossible. Allah did not permit this. We believe that when women are pushed out of the home in the name of modernity, they are exposed to exploitation, moral decay, and insecurity. It’s nothing but another form of prostitution.”

The post also framed women’s presence in public spaces and workplaces as evidence of moral decline rather than social progress. Jamaat later claimed the post was deleted due to “misinterpretation,” and suggested the account may have been compromised, an explanation that people dismissed as unconvincing, given the party’s long-held ideological positions.

In 2026, such a statement struck many as not only offensive, but dangerously regressive. Equating women’s economic participation with prostitution strips working women of dignity and agency, reducing their contributions to a moral caricature. Bangladesh’s economy is heavily dependent on women, from garment workers and teachers to doctors, entrepreneurs, and public servants. To frame their labor as immoral is to delegitimize their existence and reinforce standards that confine women to domestic spaces and treat their autonomy as a social threat. The controversy has brought new attention the nearly universally recognized phenomenon that misogyny is not incidental, but structural within Islam. Jamaat’s position is suggestive of women’s independence being viewed as disorder, wherein control over women’s mobility is central to social regulation in regions where Islamic principles are dominant, as Rahman lays bare how deeply gender inequality is embedded in Islamic ideology.

Rather than distancing itself from the remarks, Jamaat’s women’s wing moved to defend the party line. Nurunnisa Siddika, the Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Central Women’s Division, publicly doubled down on the position that women should not hold top leadership roles. Speaking to reporters after meetings at the Election Commission, Siddika said women leading the party were “against the Qur’an,” and asserted that men are divinely ordained as guardians and decision-makers. The fact that they have not nominated any female candidates in the upcoming elections therefore surprises no one.

She argued that Bangladesh’s history of having two female prime ministers had not solved women’s problems, asking rhetorically whether violence against women had decreased under female leadership. Her comments reinforced the perception that Jamaat’s gender ideology is held institutionally, and is not exclusively the view of one leader.

The controversy has developed against a dark backdrop of a documented rise in violence against women in the past couple of years, as adherence to Sharia has experienced a revival in the country following Hasina’s removal.

Human rights organizations reported hundreds of rape cases in the past year alone, including a disturbing number including minors and gang assaults. Several victims died after sexual violence, while others reportedly took their own lives following rape. While these figures reflect only reported cases, many more are believed to go unreported due to fear, stigma, or a lack of trust in authorities.

Alongside sexual violence, there has been a surge in moral policing and mob intimidation. Women have been harassed, threatened, or assaulted for not wearing the hijab or for appearing in public spaces deemed “inappropriate.” Videos and eyewitness accounts have circulated online showing groups confronting women over clothing, while students on university campuses have spoken of increased pressure to conform to Islamic dress codes. Women’s sporting events and cultural programs have also faced threats from Islamic groups demanding their cancellation.

These developments clearly stem from the growing influence of Islam in the political landscape. With state institutions weakened and political authority contested, Islamic groups have found space to assert social control, often targeting women as the most visible symbols of change. Understanding that misogynistic rhetoric at the top translates into actual violence on the streets, the Jamaat chief’s remarks, and the women’s wing’s defense of them, have come to symbolize more than a single offensive post. They signal a greater shift towards Islam and Sharia, with women’s freedoms being increasingly questioned and violence normalized under the guise of morality.

As Bangladesh inches toward elections, it is for the world to see whether women will continue to belong in Bangladesh’s public life at all. If current trends continue unchecked, Bangladesh risks sliding toward a social order where women’s autonomy is systematically eroded through classic Afghanistan-style restrictions.


Bangladesh: Mosque imam identified as mastermind of lynching of Hindu man by mob chanting Islamic slogans

JAN 11, 2026 1:00 PM
BY ROBERT SPENCER

How did the imam Mohammad Yasin Arafat come to misunderstand so spectacularly the peaceful religion that he has spent his life trying to understand properly and communicate effectively? Could it be that Islam is not really a peaceful religion after all, but actually sanctifies violence? Nah. That would be “Islamophobic.”

“Mosque Imam, Identified As Mastermind Behind Hindu Worker Dipu Das’ Lynching, Arrested in Bangladesh,” by Nidhi Sinha, Republic, January 8, 2026: Dhaka: The Detective Branch (DB) of Bangladesh Police have arrested the mastermind behind the lynching of Hindu worker Dipu Chandra Das. The arrested man, identified as 25-year-old Mohammad Yasin Arafat, allegedly played a crucial role in dragging Das’ body to Square Masterbari and setting it ablaze on December 18, 2025. Police stated that he incited the mob, which eventually led to the tragic ending of the victim.

Mohammad Yasin Arafat, who is a resident of South Hobirbari’s Karaitola Mor, was an imam at the Shekahbari mosque. Earlier, he was a teacher at a madrasa. According to investigators, Arafat led the mob by raising slogans at the factory gate, actively participated in the brutal assault and was also involved in his death.

The arrest was made with the assistance of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Dipu Chandra Das, who was a worker at a garment factory, was forced to resign and was handed over to an angry mob after he was accused of hurting religious sentiments of Islamists. It had been alleged that he made a derogatory remark against Prophet Muhammad in a Facebook post. Despite lacking proof of the allegation, the mob beat him to death. Thereafter, the miscreants tied his body to a tree and set it ablaze.

A horrific video of the incident showed the mob attacking Dipu while chanting Islamic slogans. The lynching of Dipu Das reignited fresh concerns over the safety of minorities in Bangladesh and triggered massive protests in several parts of India, including outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi….



Muslim cleric up for sex abuse

28/03/2005 17:17 - (SA)

Dhaka - A Muslim cleric who ran an Islamic religious school for girls in Bangladesh has been accused of having sex with his students and forcing those who became pregnant to have abortions, a news report said on Monday.

The Bangladesh Observer quoted local police in northern Lalmonirhat district as saying a criminal case of rape was filed against Maulana Nazmul Haq after a 15-year-old female student of the madrassa, or Islamic school, went for an abortion.

The female student reportedly told police that Haq had regular sexual relations with several resident students.

Local police officer Zakir Hossain said at least nine girls were sexually violated by Haq, with two of them forced to abort their pregnancies.

The Islamic school is located in the remote village of Tongbhanga in Lalmonirhat district 430km north of Dhaka. - Sapa-dpa

 
Bangladesh arrests fugitive Islamic cleric suspected in assassination attempt

Oct. 3, 2005

Investigators are questioning an Islamic cleric suspected in an assassination plot against a top Bangladeshi political leader, an intelligence official said Sunday.

Mufti Abdul Hannan _ a fugitive earlier sentenced in absentia to life in prison for possessing illegal weapons _ was arrested Saturday by members of an elite anti-crime force, said Lt. Col. Gulzaruddin Ahmed, director of the force's intelligence wing. Hannan had been in hiding since 2000. Hannan's wife and four children were also arrested Saturday at a rented home in the capital, Dhaka, Ahmed said, adding that the family members were later freed. Hannan The officials also seized bomb-making materials, Ahmed said. On Sunday, interrogators were trying to determine if Hannan was linked to a wave of more than 400 bomb blasts that killed two people and injured 125 people across Bangladesh within an hour on Aug. 17. The bombs were small and apparently homemade. No one claimed the responsibility for the bombings, but leaflets from the banned Islamic group Jumatul Mujahedin were found at all the blast sites. The group wants to establish harsh Islamic laws in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which is governed by secular laws. Authorities have arrested nearly 400 suspects, many of them suspected members of the banned group. Police have said Hannan is the prime suspect in a plot to assassinate then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in July 2000, when a large bomb was planted where Hasina was scheduled to address a rally. The bomb was found before it exploded. Media reports claimed Hannan had studied in an Islamic school in Pakistan in the early 1980s, then slipped into neighboring India where he studied in another such school for six years. He also reportedly had military training in Pakistan, then went to Afghanistan to fight against then-Soviet occupation. A Dhaka court on Sunday was expected to rule that officials could keep Hannan in custody for more questioning, a Dhaka metropolitan police official said on condition of anonymity.
 

Top Bangla cleric held for bomb explosions

(DPA)
23 August 2005

DHAKA — A prominent Muslim cleric in Bangladesh was arrested yesterday for his alleged role in the August 17 bomb attacks across the country which killed two people and injured 200, officials said.

The cleric, identified as Maulana Fariduddin Mahfuz, was arrested at the airport in Dhaka as he prepared to board a flight to a Gulf country.

Mahfuz, who once headed the state-run Islamic Foundation, is accused of trying to flee the country after intelligence agencies unearthed proof of his involvement in the series of cross-country explosions which triggered nationwide panic.

The foundation publishes books and organises seminars on Islam besides running the biggest mosque in the country.
 

Bangladesh cleric tells Muslims not to fly ‘infidel’ flags during World Cup

Sunday, May 28, 2006

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi cleric has called on Muslims not to fly the flags of any “infidel” nations playing in the World Cup as football fever gripped the sports-mad country.

“Muslims should refrain from flying the flags of infidel countries,” Jahanigir Kabir, head cleric of the main mosque in the northern town of Ishwardi, said Saturday. He made the statement a day after he issued a similar message in a sermon to more than 1,000 devotees at weekly prayers in Ishawardi, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Dhaka. Kabir’s call came as thousands of flags of World Cup football favourites fluttered over Bangladesh’s cities and towns with the tournament less than two weeks away. Most of the flags flying from the rooftops of houses and windows of apartments are of the two World Cup favourites – Argentina and Brazil – as most football fans support the team of either one nation or the other. But some fans were also flying the flags of Germany, France and Italy. Kabir said a Muslim flying the flag of a non-Muslim country was unIslamic and represented an “alien culture.” “In the past we have seen young men getting into brawls over their favourite team and they stage victory parades when their favourite teams win. These acts are un-Islamic,” Kabir told AFP. The month-long World Cup beginning June 9 is expected to draw record television audiences in the sport-obsessed South Asian nation. afp