Jamaat’s political DNA is rooted in misogyny, says Nasir

Central general secretary of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Nasir Uddin Nasir has said misogyny is embedded in the political DNA of Jamaat.

He said if Jamaat ever comes to state power, it would create a terrifying and extremely hostile situation for women in Bangladesh. Jamaat’s rise to power would mean confining women to their homes, halting their progress in workplaces and undermining their dignity in every sphere, he said.

Nasir made the remarks in a Facebook post on Monday, January 26.

He strongly condemned controversial comments made by Jamaat leader Md Shamim Ahsan about the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, Ducsu.

Nasir said Ducsu is the cradle of democratic student politics in the country. From the Language Movement to the mass uprising of 1969, the Liberation War and the anti-autocracy movement of 1990, Ducsu’s role is written in golden letters in every historic chapter, he said.

Labelling such a historic institution as a “drug den” and a “brothel” reflects the extreme moral bankruptcy of Jamaat politics, Nasir said, adding that it is a direct insult to thousands of female students of Dhaka University and a manifestation of systemic misogyny.

Referring to Jamaat’s politics, he said there is nothing surprising about such remarks. When a political ideology is rooted in misogyny, rape and violence against women, nothing better can be expected, he said.

Drawing attention to 1971, Nasir said leaders and activists of this organisation collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces in the mass violation of women. The use of such vulgar language in public today is a naked expression of that same dark mindset, he added.

Nasir also questioned the role of the current Ducsu leadership. He said those who issue lengthy statements over trivial matters are mysteriously silent now. The failure to officially protest such a heinous statement proves that the Shibir-controlled Ducsu has turned into a servile extension of Jamaat, he alleged.

Calling the situation deeply shameful for Ducsu as an institution, Nasir demanded that Jamaat immediately apologise as a party for undermining the dignity of Dhaka University and its female students.