B'desh: Radical Islamist group organises rally demanding women's reform body dissolution

Dhaka, May 3 (IANS) In a growing emergence of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh, thousands of leaders and activists of the radical Islamist group of the country, Hefazat-e-Islam, on Saturday organised a rally in Dhaka demanding the dissolution of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission.

Additionally, the Islamist group demanded the withdrawal of cases against its leaders and a ban on the Awami League, local media reported.

Law enforcement agencies are on high alert as members of various security forces, including plainclothes and uniformed police, have been stationed at key points across the city since early morning.

Approximately 300 cases are pending against the Hefazat leaders, according to a report by UNB.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Hefazat-e-Islam threatened to paralyse Bangladesh if all their demands, including the abolition of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission, were not met immediately.

Addressing a protest rally in front of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka, Maulana Junaid Al Habib, the organisation's central senior vice president, declared that Dhaka will come to a standstill on Saturday if their demands are not met.

"The government's time is until tomorrow. If a decision is not made by tomorrow, the country will be brought to a standstill and set to fire," said the Islamist leader.

"If the cases against Hefazat leaders and religious scholars are not withdrawn and the women's commission is not abolished, we will launch stricter programmes," another leader of the Islamist party, Mohiuddin Rabbani, warned.

Last week, Hefazat-e-Islam issued a threat, stating that Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus will face a similar fate as former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina if the proposals made by the women's commission are put into action.

Earlier, at various protest rallies and processions organised across the country, the Islamist group made these warnings to the interim government, terming the women's reform body proposals as "anti-Islamic."

Addressing a public gathering in Narayanganj district last week, Mamunul Haque, joint secretary general of Hefazat, said that the women's commission has shown complete disregard for Islamic law by stating that religious and social norms are the main reason for discrimination against women in the country, according to a report by leading Bangladeshi daily, The Business Standard.

"Yunus Saheb has talked about implementing it quickly. He has stood against the Islamic inheritance law. We have given him a lot of respect, but if he moves on this path, we cannot treat him any differently than Hasina," Haque stated.

The extremist groups previously collaborated with student leaders and Yunus to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Awami League.

The previously celebrated unity of political parties in Bangladesh, evident during the ousting of Hasina in August 2024, is gradually diminishing.

--IANS

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