DHAKA: Around 3,000 women rallied Friday in Bangladesh for the country’s interim government to openly support a commission tasked with addressing gender-based violence. The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission was set up by the caretaker government of Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus in November as part of its efforts to reform systems established during the iron-fisted rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh’s influential coalition of hardline Islamist parties has called for the commission to be abolished, saying the reforms it suggested were against Islamist ideology. Jannatul Ferdous, a 40-year-old labourer, who took part in the rally, told AFP violence against women had been increasing.

“The situation is worse than it was 16 years ago. The (Islamist) hardliners have gained too much strength,” she said. The commission has recommended a uniform family code instead of Muslim family law, which governs inheritance, marriage, divorce, and other issues.

The protest was organized in the capital Dhaka by ‘Narir Daake Moitree Jatra’, a women’s movement pressing for equal rights. “The interim government must fulfill its constitutional role and take action against the reactionary group that is spreading propaganda and misinformation against the reform commission,” the women’s platform said in a statement. “The reactionary group is using religion as a shield to terrorize people,” it said. “We have been witnessing hate campaigns, threats and organized violence. We would like to know who the government is aligning with.” Hasina was overthrown by student-led mass protests in August 2024 and currently lives in self-imposed exile in India.

Her government was blamed for extensive human rights abuses, and she took a tough stand against Islamist movements during her 15-year rule. Bangladesh has seen a surge of open support for Islamist groups since her ouster. The protesters, including tea and garment workers, marched with placards, beat drums and sang protest songs. –AFP