Bangladesh bowler Tanzim Hasan Sakib was embroiled in controversy on Monday over his misogynistic social media posts criticizing working women, just days after making his international debut.
On his debut in the Asia Cup, Saqib took the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma with only his fourth delivery in international cricket, before holding his nerve in the final over to ensure Bangladesh’s victory.
However, the resulting admiration that followed his performance at the Asian Cup quickly turned into condemnation from women’s rights activists and feminists after his misogynistic social media posts about working women surfaced.
“If the wife works, the husband’s rights are not guaranteed,” the organization wrote on Facebook last year. “If the wife works, the rights of the child are not guaranteed. If the wife works, her elegance is damaged.”
The organization added on Facebook: “If the wife works, the family is corrupted. If the wife works, the hijab is corrupted. If the wife works, society is corrupted.”
In another post, the men’s organization warned that their children would not have a “modest” mother if they married “a woman accustomed to mingling freely with her male friends at university.”
The organization’s comments sparked violent reactions. Paris-based feminist writer Janaton Naeem Preeti pointed out that the Bangladeshi team’s jerseys were manufactured in factories mostly staffed by women.
Agence France-Presse quoted Preeti as saying: “I feel sorry for you because you do not consider your mother to be a normal person.”
Writer Swakrito Nauman described the comments as “extremely offensive” in a widely shared Facebook post, and demanded that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) question the organization and apologize to the player.
Agence France-Presse quoted journalist Majboul Haq as saying: “Putting up such a distorted form of misogyny is unacceptable. No matter how big his star is!”
The Bangladesh Cricket Board said it was investigating the matter.
Jalal Younis, head of operations at the central bank, told AFP: “This case has come to our attention. We are investigating the matter.”
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Updated: Sep 19, 2023, 08:02 PM IST
