Noboprobhaat Foundation (Noboprobhaat) has worked openly and visibly for vulnerable communities in Bangladesh since 2018. The youth-led organisation is now a registered NGO. Noboprobhaat advocates for the protection of the human rights of vulnerable communities, acting as their voice. On 11 August 2026, an online hate campaign was launched against it.
The campaign was started by the online outlet The Aasr. On that day it published an article by Md. Ridwan Sharker, who is described as a writer and analyst, titled “হিজড়া অধিকারের আড়ালে ট্রান্সজেন্ডার ও সমকামী মতাদর্শ প্রসারের চক্রান্ত!” (“A conspiracy to spread transgender and homosexual ideology under the guise of hijra rights!”). The article alleges that Noboprobhaat, through a workshop framed as support for hijra communities, is promoting transgender and same-sex ideology in Bangladesh. It claims that GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality), a New York-based funder, supports Noboprobhaat’s work under a project called “United for Resilience”, and that the funding aims to counter social and religious opposition to “gender” policies and to build a national action plan. It also claims that officials, public figures and young people are being invited to such workshops.
The article argues that such ideology undermines marriage, family and youth, and cites Quranic verses and hadith to argue that these practices are forbidden in Islam. It uses the word “hijra” to mean biologically intersex people. The campaigners treat intersex people as hijra. Their position is that intersex people are acceptable and deserve humane support and legal rights, while transgender identity is not acceptable, and the article opposes transgender identity on that basis. The article then calls on the public to act. It tells Muslims to monitor their children’s exposure to these issues and calls for mobilisation through mosques and madrasas. It also urges the government to oversee NGOs’ activities and funding, seeking to turn the state against the organisation.
The same day, The Aasr’s Facebook page promoted the article with a graphic headed “নেপথ্যে ‘নবপ্রভাত ফাউন্ডেশন'” (“Behind the scenes: ‘Noboprobhaat Foundation'”). It featured a photograph from a Noboprobhaat workshop, a screenshot of GATE’s Instagram profile and the Noboprobhaat logo, with a “অপরাধ” (“crime”) label placed over it. As of 11 August 2026, the post had 508 reactions, 4 comments and 148 shares.
The Aasr describes itself on Facebook as the “first Bangladeshi news platform based on open journalism”. Its page had about 30,000 followers and carries a disclaimer that most of its content is user-generated and that only the author is legally liable. The page is formed and run by individuals from the group of Mohammad Sorowar Hossain, who regularly spread hate against LGBTIQ+ and gender-diverse people.
The campaign spread much further through Mohammad Sorowar Hossain. On 11 August 2026, he shared The Aasr’s post from his verified Facebook profile, which has about 337,000 followers. As of 11 August 2026, his share had 861 reactions, 10 comments and 90 shares. This carried the article well beyond The Aasr’s own audience to his far larger following.
Mohammad Sorowar Hossain is a known leader of the anti-trans and anti-gender movement and a right-wing figure. He is a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Science at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). He is the founder of a movement called the “Movement for the Protection of Values”, through which he claims to have organised more than 150 university teachers. He has built and leads a right-wing student network in public universities. He also runs a social media “intelligence group” that monitors and exposes people and organisations seen as supporting LGBTQ+ rights. He organises seminars and workshops at IUB and other institutions. He has a personal website (mullobodh.com) and is active on Facebook and Telegram. He is also the author of a book opposing LGBTQ+ rights, whose title translates as “Mission of Homosexuality Behind the Mask of Equality”.
About 98 per cent of his Facebook posts oppose LGBTQ+ rights, at more than 15 a day, and they sometimes include misinformation. He also links unrelated issues such as birth control, menstrual health, vaccination and education reform to an “LGBTQ+ agenda”. His influence has driven online hate campaigns and boycotts against BRAC, Aarong, Prothom Alo, Walton and The Daily Star. In some cases the organisations had to issue public statements or expel individuals. An attack on the office of the Social Welfare Society is alleged to have been inspired by his rhetoric. He is also alleged to have run campaigns of threats, harassment and expulsion against students and teachers. He opposes women’s rights, feminism, secularism, democracy and international human rights, and advocates a strictly patriarchal social order.
Commenting on the campaign, the Executive Director of Noboprobhaat said that Mohammad Sorowar Hossain regularly spreads hate against individuals, organisations, human rights activists, teachers, media and political figures of different ideologies, ethnicities, genders and orientations. According to the Executive Director, this hate-spreading and targeting has increased greatly since the 2024 mass uprising, because there is no legal framework to counter those who spread hate and the government gives them more priority. The Executive Director said many organisations targeted by them have abandoned their values and principles out of fear.
But we do not want to abandon our values and principles out of fear of him. We do not want to discriminate against anyone on the basis of their gender, orientation, ethnicity, nationality, financial background or any other identity. We will keep speaking for vulnerable communities, and we will certainly keep speaking with visibility.
— Executive Director, Noboprobhaat Foundation
References
- The Aasr — “হিজড়া অধিকারের আড়ালে ট্রান্সজেন্ডার ও সমকামী মতাদর্শ প্রসারের চক্রান্ত!”, 11 August 2026.
Read the report - The Aasr — Facebook post, 11 August 2026.
View the Facebook post - Mohammad Sorowar Hossain — Facebook post, 11 August 2026.
View the Facebook post - LGBTIQ Phobia Monitoring BD — Profile of Mohammad Sorowar Hossain.
View the profile
