Bangladesh Feminist Archives (BFA) strongly condemns the recent actions and inflammatory rhetoric of Hefazat-e-Islam in response to the Women’s Affairs Reforms Commission’s report, submitted to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on April 19, 2025. The report, aimed at eliminating systemic discrimination against women and ensuring gender equality, has triggered orchestrated backlash from conservative religious quarters, culminating in a mass rally at Suhrawardy Udyan calling for the dissolution of the Commission.
Hefazat-e-Islam’s statements labeling the report “anti-Islamic,” “anti-Quran,” and “anti-Muslim” are deeply irresponsible and dangerous. While Hefazat leaders claimed the rally was not anti-women, the complete absence of women participants and the use of misogynistic and transphobic language reveal otherwise. Public statements by senior leaders, including the degrading description of Commission members as “third gender-looking women,” are unacceptable and designed to incite hatred against women and gender-diverse individuals.
Hefazat’s demands to remove critical terms such as “gender identity,” “gender diversity,” “gender equality,” “gender discrimination,” “third gender,” and “other genders” from official language and public discourse are part of a broader agenda to erase the rights of gender diverse communities under the guise of moral and religious policing.
The BFA reaffirms that the recommendations in the Commission’s report including recognition of marital rape, equal inheritance rights, and inclusive language are essential to advancing justice and equity for all. The future of this report must be shaped through respectful, democratic debate, not through fear-mongering, violent rhetoric, or rallies that threaten the safety and dignity of women and marginalized communities.
We urge the government, civil society, and all feminist and human rights organizations to resist intimidation and stand firm in defense of gender justice, bodily autonomy, and the right to be heard.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 