The Bangladesh Mahila Parishad has expressed deep concern and dismay that at the country’s highest university, Dhaka University, where gender sensitivity, pluralistic thinking and culture are supposed to flourish, a male candidate is threatening a female candidate with gang-rape on social media during the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections.
In addition, there are incidents of misogynistic propaganda, cyberbullying, cyber violence, and various obscene comments against candidates in the elections to be held in various universities of the country through social media, the organisation said in a statement on Thursday.
On September 3, 2025, it was reported through various social media and news published in various daily newspapers that a female student of the university was threatened with gang rape by a male candidate in the upcoming DUCSU elections through social media.
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According to sources, Ali Husen, a resident student of the Department of Social Sciences and Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall and a candidate of the United Students Alliance, threatened the female candidate with gang rape through social media when she filed a writ petition regarding the DUCSU and Hall unit elections.
The incident of threatening a female candidate in obscene language is worrying the students on the one hand, and it is also disrupting the normal and peaceful environment of the elections at the university and disrupting the safety and independence of the candidates.
Mahila Parishad demanded that the administration and the authorities concerned take appropriate action against those involved in the incident of threatening a female candidate, subject to a fair and impartial investigation.
It also demanded that all candidates take necessary steps to ensure the safety of female students and candidates, including ensuring that the DUCSU election code of conduct is followed.
โWe know that the university authorities have already taken some steps. We want an end to the recurrence of such incidents in universities and a peaceful, safe and violence-free election environment to be created in universities,โ the statement said, calling for a social movement to prevent violence against women and girls.
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On Wednesday, the Dhaka University authorities suspended sociology student Ali Husen for six months for his Facebook post. The allegation against the student had also been forwarded to the institutionโs Sexual Harassment Committee for further review.
โThis is the maximum punishment within the proctorโs jurisdiction under the University Order,โ the administration said in a statement.
The controversy stems from a Facebook post Ali made on Monday about BM Fahmida Alam, a candidate for Liberation War and Democratic Movement Committee secretary from the โOporajeyo 71, Odommo 24โ panel, after she filed a High Court petition challenging the candidacy of SM Farhad.
She alleged Farhad was listed in a Bangladesh Chhatra League committee until August 5, yet became a nominee of the Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed alliance.
The High Court suspended the DUCSU polls until October 30 and ordered the universityโs election tribunal to investigate Farhadโs eligibility. But following student protests, Dhaka University authorities appealed, and the Appellate Divisionโs chamber court stayed the order, clearing the way for elections.
Amid the dispute, Ali took to Facebook, suggesting Fahmida should face a โgang rape marchโ instead of protests against the High Court.
According to the Mahila Parishad, out of the 223 women and girls subjected to violence in August, 62 were killed, with 55 being women and seven girls. Five others survived attempted murder, while 17 deaths were reported as โmysteriousโ.
Among the 53 victims of rape, 31 were girls and 22 women and another 15 were gang-raped. Two girls were killed after being raped. In addition, 13 others, including 10 girls, were subjected to attempted rape.
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