On July 21, 2025, a Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet crashed into Milestone School and College in Uttara, Dhaka. At least 27 lives were lost, most of them children and teenagers, including teacher Maherin Chowdhury, who reportedly died while trying to protect her students. Over 170 others were injured. This is not simply an aviation disaster; it is a structural and collective failure.
From Bangladesh Feminist Archives, we join in mourning and in outrage.
Our classrooms are not war zones. Our children are not collateral damage. Our schools should not be forced to absorb the consequences of state and military negligence.
We acknowledge and honor the care work of teachers, school staff, and community members who rushed to carry injured students, organize transportation, and provide shelter. This labor, so often invisibilized and undervalued, was central to the emergency response. We especially remember Maherin, whose final act was an extension of the same everyday care that women perform, quietly, consistently, and at great cost.
This moment demands more than grief. It demands accountability.
Why are military training jets flying over densely populated neighborhoods? Why is disaster preparedness left to overstretched teachers and unprotected children? Why are the voices of those most affected, students, parents, survivors, absent from national conversations?
This was not an accident. It is the result of entrenched militarization, poor urban governance, and a persistent erasure of public safety from state priorities.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives stands in full solidarity with all those impacted. We join the call for a transparent investigation and urgent structural reform to prevent such preventable loss of life.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 