25 December 2023 | Dhaka, Bangladesh
Islami Chhatra Andolan Bangladesh publicly opposed transgender recognition, the University of Dhaka’s transgender admission quota and the government’s proposed transgender rights protection legislation during a monthly meeting at the organisation’s central office in Purana Paltan, Dhaka. Addressing the meeting, central president Shariful Islam Riad described transgender identity as a psychological abnormality and argued that attempts to establish its legal and institutional recognition were incompatible with Bangladeshi religious beliefs, culture and social values. He portrayed transgender recognition as a Western ideological influence and rejected recognition of a gender identity different from a person’s sex assigned at birth. These assertions reflected the position expressed by the organisation and its leader rather than medical or scientific findings.
Riad directed part of his criticism at the University of Dhaka, where the inclusion of a “Transgender/Hijra” category in the admission process had already generated protests. He argued that Hijra and transgender identities should not be treated as equivalent and claimed that including transgender people within the quota would create confusion over the identity and rights of Hijra people. He also raised objections concerning transgender students and female students sharing university spaces. On these grounds, he demanded the cancellation of the transgender admission quota. His opposition extended beyond university policy to the government’s proposed transgender rights protection legislation, which had been finalised in draft form earlier that month. He called for the proposed law to be withdrawn alongside the removal of transgender recognition from the university’s admission policy.
The meeting was conducted by the organisation’s secretary general, Yusuf Ahmad Mansur, and attended by other members of its central leadership, including vice-president Nurul Bashar Azizi and joint secretary general Ibrahim Hussain Mridha. The position expressed at the central meeting was followed by a separate public programme at the University of Dhaka on 27 December, when Islami Chhatra Andolan Bangladesh organised a human chain and again demanded the removal of transgender recognition from the university’s admission policy and the cancellation of the proposed protection law.
References
Daily Inqilab — ট্রান্সজেন্ডার বৈধতার অপচেষ্টা বাঙালি সংস্কৃতি বিরোধী (27 December 2023)
