Transgender activist Sahara Chowdhury led a protest at the Central Shaheed Minar today, burning an effigy of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Associate Professor Mohammad Sorowar Hossain, after his recent Facebook post dismissing feminist movements and menstrual rights as part of a “Western agenda.”
Around fifty people joined the demonstration, where activists condemned Sorowar’s views as misogynistic and harmful to both women and gender minorities.
Background to the Protest
The protest came in direct response to Sorowar Hossain’s 16 September Facebook status, in which he characterized menstruation awareness and reproductive health education as “feminist hysteria,” linked sanitary pad campaigns to corporate profiteering, and described them as “opposed to Islamic purity.”
His remarks sparked outrage among activists, rights groups, and students. In particular, Sahara Chowdhury—who was recently expelled by Metropolitan University in Sylhet amid controversy over her transgender identity—announced the effigy-burning program as a symbolic rejection of what she called a growing culture of right-wing hostility to women’s health and LGBT rights.
Sahara’s Statement
In a strongly worded speech delivered at the protest, Sahara said:
“Right-wing conservatives attack sanitary napkins because they want to force population growth. Their campaign is not about morality—it’s about keeping women and LGBT people oppressed, turning them into disposable labor machines.”
She argued that such rhetoric aims to restrict sexual education and reproductive rights, thereby normalizing child marriage, marital rape, and economic subjugation of women.
Sahara further linked conservative hostility toward LGBT rights to broader systems of labor exploitation:
“They don’t want to ‘eliminate’ LGBT people. They want us trapped in poverty, forced into sex work, and denied the rights to family, marriage, or stable jobs. It is an efficient system of exploitation that supplies the ruling class with cheap labor and hidden sexual servitude.”
Wider Accusations Against Sorowar
In her press release, Sahara described Sorowar Hossain as not only “a misogynist” but also “an enthusiastic supporter of Israel and an opponent of LGBT people.” Protesters echoed her words, accusing him of using his academic platform to reinforce regressive gender and sexual politics.
Tense Atmosphere
Organizers said they deliberately kept the event low-profile until the last moment, fearing disruption by hostile groups. Despite concerns, the protest concluded without incident, though participants reported verbal threats from passers-by.
Calls for Accountability
The protest adds to growing criticism of Sorowar Hossain’s public statements. Activists urged both IUB and the wider academic community to take responsibility for professors spreading what they called “hate speech disguised as moral conservatism.”
Sahara Chowdhury closed her speech by declaring:
“If they treat women as only child-bearing machines, if they treat LGBT people as disposable, then it is our duty to resist. Our bodies are not tools for their economy, nor for their prejudice.”
