Nowadays, are lesser working women wearing ‘bindi’, a colour dot or stickers found on the middle of their forehead?
Possibly a fear psychosis occurred last April after a Hindu college teacher Lata Samaddar was heckled by a policeman in the heart of capital Dhaka, which has been described as a hate crime.
Her crime was wearing a traditional ‘bindi’ on her forehead and the policeman hurled abuses at her after seeing ‘bindi’ on her forehead, which conservative Muslim families do not approve of.
Well, a large feminist or independent women and defiant students continue to sport ‘bindi’ and other jewellery – not necessarily believing it’s a third-eye of Goddess Tara to be blessed.
An increasing number of female students, young girls and other working women in urban society have taken Hijab and Burqa as Islamic dress into their daily life, whether it is approved or not in Holy Qu’ran.
On the other hand, a visible number of young women in the capital sporting colourful T-shirts or simple kameez wearing tasteful beads-lace on their wrists and necks, and having tattoos are found in several hang-outs sipping tea and coffee shops. There the young women smoke in public with their male friends – as if give a damn to a conservative society.
Prof Robaet Ferdous of Dhaka University in his reaction at an event in observation of the International Day of Indigenous People said he asked a Hindu student why she was wearing Hijab on the university campus.
Well, he was frustrated, as he did not get a satisfactory response from the said female student.
Other university teachers remarked that recently they observed nowadays some non-Muslim female students in public and private universities pull their ‘orna’ (a matching piece of cloth when they are clothed in shalwar and kameez) or the ‘anchal’ of a saree when they hear a Muslims call of prayer (Ajan) from a mosque.
It is understood that the non-Muslim female students fear backlash from Muslim neighbours, fellow students and even from women class teachers, especially in higher educational institutions in district towns.
My former news organisation colleague and a like-minded comrade Mohammad Imran posted a worrying post on social media recently.
He described alarming stories about facing angry vigilantes in the streets and elsewhere. He dubbed these radicalised persons as “social reformers”.
An unknown person in white pyjama, blue punjabi and a white topi (cap) with a scorn face confronted Imran at Shantinagar in the capital and categorically said that his beard looks like a pious Muslim but seriously objected to his short trouser.
For the first few seconds, he could not understand what was he trying to convey. He understood after the stranger scolded him in abusive language and walked away.
He wrote on Instagram that in the last 8-9 years he had confronted numerous such enraged “social reformers” in public places.
Some said that his beard was okay but needs to trim his moustache.
Once he went to an embassy in Dhaka, a policeman guarding the foreign chancery advised him that he should not have worn a half-pant.
Another time, he went to a police station to report his missing driving license. The duty officer refused to register his complaint as he was wearing shorts. “I know people like you very well, they are all liars.”
A security guard in a hospital in an insulting tone said to lower his crossed legs, as he was wearing a half-pant.
Next what? A clerk at a ticketing counter at a bus station refused to sell a ticket because he did not like the way he was dressed.
He does argue with the “social reformers” and also did not spare the policemen lecturing sermons on the so-called “Islamic” dress code.
He argued that they were rude. It’s an infringement of his civic and political rights as he did not violate any laws or was not in a place where a dress code was mandatory – like in social clubs.
Finally, in his remark, he says that he enjoys confronting such Islamic dress code vigilantes.
He is alarmed that the number of incidents has increased and is afraid that it will further rise. He advises those who fell victim to vigilantes to boldly face them and process legal action against the perpetrators.
He wondered what would happen if the Islamists gets an upper hand to wield power to exercise enforcement of the dress code.
What will happen to a secular nation which sacrificed three million martyrs, the sufferings of 10 million war refugees, and half a million women who were victims of rape as a weapon of war during the brutal birth of Bangladesh in 1971.
The supreme sacrifice was made to create a secular nation-state, not copycat the political and social mindset of the defeated Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, and recipient of the Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter @saleemsamad
