What unfolded at BUP this week shows how fragile public movements can be when misinformation and manipulation enter the scene. Students gathered in solidarity to demand justice for a classmate who was allegedly gang-raped, a spontaneous, collective response driven by outrage and empathy. But in the middle of that, a set of placards appeared carrying messages like “Secularism is the birthplace of rapists” and “Secularism destroys the dignity of women.”
Those words were not written or endorsed by the students. They were later traced to individuals linked to Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned organization that has long tried to use public unrest to push its own ideological agenda. The intrusion was quickly recognized; students removed the placards and clarified that their protest had no political or religious affiliation.
Yet by then, photographs of the protest with those signs had already gone viral, detached from context, feeding misinformation online. A movement that began as a cry for justice was suddenly framed as something else entirely.
This incident reflects a deeper problem: how easily genuine expressions of anger and solidarity can be co-opted in Bangladesh’s charged public space. When images circulate faster than facts, the story can be rewritten within hours and the real issue, the violence that sparked the protest, is pushed aside once again.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 