A joint statement titled “Statement by 1,200 Distinguished Citizens” has been issued by a group of right-wing university teachers, doctors, engineers, and professionals from various sectors, demanding the cancellation of two awards reserved for transgender people under Bangladesh’s National Youth Award 2026. On 8 March 2026, Mullobodh Andolon (Values Movement), a conservative and right-wing organisation, published the statement under the headline “Stop the Attempt to Reward Transgender People.” The organisation’s spokesperson, Engineer Muhammad Sadat, circulated the statement to the media. The signatories opposed a provision of the National Youth Award Policy (Amended) 2026, introduced by the Department of Youth Development under the Ministry of Youth and Sports. According to an official government notice issued on 26 February 2026, two of the 20 awards under the National Youth Award 2026 were reserved for transgender people, representing 10 percent of the total awards. One award was allocated under the Successful Self-Employed Youth category and another under the Youth Organisers category.
In the statement, the right-wing signatories portrayed transgender identity as incompatible with Bangladesh’s religious, social, and moral values. They claimed that reserving dedicated awards for transgender people within a national recognition programme would contradict the religious beliefs of the majority of the population and the country’s prevailing social values. The statement described the government’s initiative to recognise transgender people through national awards as an unacceptable measure. The signatories demanded that the government immediately amend the National Youth Award Policy (Amended) 2026 and cancel the two awards reserved for transgender people. They also called for an explicit government declaration prohibiting the inclusion of gender identities outside the gender framework they considered officially recognised in state policies, government programmes, and national award systems. Their demands therefore extended beyond cancelling the two reserved awards to completely preventing the inclusion and recognition of transgender identities in government policies, programmes, and state recognition mechanisms.
The statement and list of signatories published by Mullobodh Andolon included university teachers, doctors, engineers, students, businesspeople, and professionals employed in public and private institutions. Among the prominent signatories were Dr. Mohammad Sorowar Hossain, Chairman of Mullobodh Andolon and Associate Professor at Independent University, Bangladesh; Professor Mohammad Abul Hasnat of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology; Professor Dr. Muhammad Yusuf Ibn Hossain of the University of Dhaka; Professor Dr. Syed Md. Galib of Jashore University of Science and Technology; and Professor Dr. Hafez ABM Hizbullah of Islamic University. According to the organisation, the statement was endorsed by 1,200 individuals. However, the signatures and consent of every person included in the published list could not be independently verified.
In Bangladesh, transgender and gender-diverse people have long experienced discrimination and social barriers in accessing education, employment, skills development, social protection, and economic opportunities. Many transgender people face exclusion from formal employment, professional training, and entrepreneurship opportunities because of their gender identity. Against this backdrop, reserving two awards for transgender people under the National Youth Award 2026 created an opportunity to recognise their contributions to self-employment, entrepreneurship, and youth leadership at the national level. However, through the statement presented as the “Statement by 1,200 Distinguished Citizens,” the right-wing group demanded not only the cancellation of these reserved awards but also a complete end to the inclusion of transgender identities in government policies, programmes, and state recognition systems.
References
- Mullobodh Andolon — Original statement and list of 1,200 signatories, 8 March 2026.
Read the statement - Daily Amar Desh — “Statement by 1,200 Distinguished Citizens”, 8 March 2026.
Read the Daily Amar Desh report - The Daily Campus — “Statement by 1,200 Distinguished Citizens”, 8 March 2026.
Read the Daily Campus report - The Aasr — “1,200 Citizens Demand Removal of Transgender Quota from National Youth Awards”, 8 March 2026.
Read the Aasr report - USBnews24 — “Statement by 1,200 Citizens Opposing Awards for Transgender People”, 8 March 2026.
Read the USBnews24 report
