Transgender activist and final-year Metropolitan University student Sahara Chowdhury has denounced her expulsion from the university as “unconstitutional” and part of a wider campaign of harassment against Bangladesh’s LGBT community. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday (22 August), Sahara demanded her immediate reinstatement, compensation for damages, and equal freedom of expression for gender minorities.
Sahara, who identified herself as a transgender woman and a participant in the July Uprising, said her expulsion stemmed from her satirical cartoons targeting individuals who had opposed the recognition of transgender martyrs in the official July Uprising memorial platform. “I drew satirical cartoons as a form of resistance,” she said, adding that accusing her of terrorism for this was “absurd and discriminatory.”
Allegations of Targeted Harassment
In her statement, Sahara detailed years of discrimination on campus, including false allegations over her use of restrooms and rumors that her academic success was due to foreign influence. She claimed the university expelled her without due process, informing her only through a publicly released notice.
“From the start, I was subjected to a smear campaign,” Sahara said, noting that at one stage she stopped drinking water during the day to avoid being harassed over restroom use. She also described how classmates mocked the deaths of transgender women in online group chats and threatened her with violence.
She argued that the knife she carried was for self-defense after repeated threats, while her Facebook posts and profile updates had been distorted to portray her as a security risk. “I never revealed bus schedules as alleged. I only mentioned when I usually wait near Tila Gar overbridge. Most of the time, I use public transport,” she clarified.
Wider LGBT Struggles and Structural Violence
Linking her case to broader LGBT rights, Sahara accused certain public intellectuals of “genocide denial” for opposing the inclusion of transgender martyrs in official records of the July Uprising. She noted that queer activists had risked their lives in the movement — with some facing fatal shootings and expulsions from political parties.
“This is structural violence rooted in colonial-era laws that criminalize same-sex relations and enable the targeting of marginalized communities,” she said, citing parallels with the use of the Special Powers Act against both political dissidents and minorities.
Demands: ‘Our Rights Are Non-Negotiable’
Sahara ended her statement with a set of uncompromising demands: reinstatement at Metropolitan University, compensation for unconstitutional expulsion, and equal freedom of expression for minority voices.
“Our demands are simple and non-negotiable,” she declared. “Give us the same rights you enjoy — the right to marriage, to education, to property, to family, to medical security, to economic survival. Anything less is structural violence.”
Mounting Pressure on University
Sahara’s press conference comes amid growing calls for her reinstatement. On 16 August, 162 citizens — including academics, lawyers, and activists — issued a joint statement condemning the university’s decision. Student organizations, including the Bangladesh Students’ Union’s Sylhet district unit, have also called the expulsion unjust and discriminatory.
As pressure mounts, Metropolitan University has yet to respond to these demands. Rights groups argue that how the administration handles Sahara’s case will be a test of whether Bangladesh’s higher education system can uphold constitutional protections for transgender and gender minority students.
