Jamaat lacks compassion for women: Tarique

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has said the Jamaat-e-Islami has never shown any compassion towards women, arguing that the party’s role in 1971 stripped countless women of their dignity and that its attitude has not changed even today.

Tarique made the remarks on Monday afternoon while addressing a rally at the Sports Park in Jashore town.

His speech largely focused on women amid heated criticism over what he described as a “misogynistic” post from the X account of Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman.

Referring to Jamaat by name, Tarique said: “We have seen how in 1971 they abandoned the people of this country and went the other way.

“Because of that, millions of people were martyred on that day. We have also seen that due to their role in 1971, millions of mothers and sisters lost their honour.

“Of course, saying this does not achieve much -- this is their character. And that is why those who have no compassion for their own country -- proven in 1971 and proven again today -- have no compassion for the mothers and sisters of this country, for the women of this country.”

He said, “After Aug 5, 2024, we had assumed that a qualitative change had taken place in Bangladesh’s politics. We believed that the parties now active in politics would speak and practise politics while upholding the dignity, honour, and respect of the people.

“But we noticed that since Aug 5, one political party has begun to speak with contempt about half of the country’s population -- mothers and women. A political party became obsessed with how to confine mothers and sisters within their homes.”

The BNP chief said his party believes Bangladesh cannot move forward by leaving women behind.

“If Bangladesh is to advance…. it is impossible to do so by sidelining half of the population -- the women,” he said.

“Because we believe that to rebuild the country, to develop the country, men and women must work together, shoulder to shoulder.”

Referring to the controversial post, Tarique said: “Yesterday we saw that a leader of this political party made an extremely objectionable comment about every working woman, working mother and working daughter in Bangladesh.

“Dear brothers and sisters, can the people of Bangladesh expect anything good from those who analyse their own country’s people in such an offensive manner? It is not possible to expect anything good from them.”

On Saturday afternoon, a post from Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman’s X account said: “On the question of women, Jamaat’s position is neither confused nor apologetic -- it is principled.

“We do not think, women should come in the 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,” it added.

After the screenshot circulated widely, Jamaat’s election committee member and former Islami Chhatra Shibir president Sirajul Islam filed a general diary with Hatirjheel Police late on Saturday, alleging that the post had been published via a hacked account.

Rejecting the claim at the Jashore rally, Tarique said, “Not only that, dear brothers and sisters, after making these objectionable remarks and seeing the intense reaction of the people of Bangladesh, they said their account had been hacked.

“But we have seen experts saying this is completely false; the account could not have been hacked. Because even after that statement, they continued to post many more statements -- the account was not hacked.

“So what does this mean? It means they are lying openly before the entire nation to protect themselves. Those who can lie openly before the people can never be friends of the people.”