Women leaders seek cancellation of Jamaat Ameer's candidacy

Eleven organisations on Sunday submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission (EC) demanding the cancellation of the candidacy of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, alleging that he made "misogynistic and derogatory" remarks about working women.

Representatives of the organisations handed over the memorandum at the Election Commission headquarter in Agargaon on Sunday.. The memorandum protested what it described as "derogatory and misogynistic comments about working women," and called for the immediate withdrawal of the remarks, an unconditional public apology, and the cancellation of Shafiqur Rahman's candidacy.

According to the memorandum, comments recently posted from Shafiqur Rahman's verified X (formerly Twitter) account regarding working women were "deeply offensive and indecent." The organisations said the remarks undermined women's labour, dignity and social role, and ran contrary to constitutionally guaranteed equality and human rights.The organisations rejected claims by the party that the post was the result of hacking, arguing that such an explanation was not acceptable for content published from a verified account.