Dhaka University (DU), often considered Bangladesh's pinnacle of intellectual and progressive aspirations, recently laid bare a chilling truth: even its hallowed halls harbor deep-seated misogyny.
A recent incident over DUCSU elections exposed a toxic undercurrent that undermines the university's enlightened image.
It all began when BM Fahmida Alam, who is running for DUCSU Liberation War and democratic affairs secretary, challenged the eligibility of SM Farhad who is running for general secretary.
Farhad, president of the DU unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir, is the nominee of the Shibir-backed United Student Alliance.
However, Fahmida filed a writ petition with the High Court arguing that his candidacy violated the DUCSU constitution due to his ties to the now-banned Bangladesh Chhatra League.
The court temporarily postponed the election, causing frustration among student groups.
Farhad previously denied involvement with the Chhatra League, saying that photos of him with Chhatra League leaders were taken during events he attended as a debating club leader.
While many expressed dismay over the court order which has now been overturned, sociology student Ali Husen urged people in a now-deleted Facebook post to gang-rape Fahmida instead of demonstrating against the court order. He wrote that the threat is also directed at anyone supporting Fahmida.
The Facebook post caused widespread outrage with the University Teachers Network on 2 September calling for exemplary punishment of Ali. The DU on 3 September suspended him for six months on charges of using offensive language and threatening Fahmida.
The threat is not isolated but part of a broader cultural pattern. It revealed a harsh reality that even in Bangladesh's most educated circles, women continue to face sexualised threats intended to silence, and shame them.
Fahmida's panel for the DUCSU election accused Shibir of carrying out a cyberbullying campaign, pointing to Ali as a supporter. However, both Ali and Shibir strongly denied any association between Husen and the group.
While Shibir condemned Ali's threat, activity on Facebook appeared to tell a different story.
In the comment sections of various posts, dozens of accounts, many with no connections to DU, posted derogatory, and gendered insults targeting Fahmida.
A quick scan raised red flags as some of the profiles showed no activity on their timelines, while others had been recently created. Commonly referred to as "bot accounts," they are widely believed to be tools used by political parties to flood conversations, manipulate narratives, and silence dissenting voices.
Although, amid widespread outrage, the DU authority on Wednesday [3 September] suspended Ali for six months on charges of using offensive language and threatening Fahmida, the incident is not isolated but part of a broader cultural pattern.
Social media in Bangladesh reveals a disturbing dynamic: while men may face physical assault that challenge their dominance, women endure sexualised threats aimed to strip them of autonomy.
These gendered attacks inflict deep psychological trauma, erode confidence, and push women out of public spaces, ultimately weakening democratic participation.
Despite being centres of learning, entrenched patriarchy continues to reflect in institutions like DU where hostile sexism and fragile masculinity persist even among the educated youth, and education fails to dismantle misogynistic views.
Online platforms only magnify these aggressions, turning the female body into a site of power struggle and control.
The lack of accountability for perpetrators further embodies this violence, leaving women increasingly vulnerable.
That such a threat came from a student of DU, an institution expected to lead societal progress, raises questions.
Why does sexual violence remain the default weapon against women? DU must confront these questions to create both online and offline spaces where gender-based violence is neither normalised nor tolerated.
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