Taliban 2.0? Bangladesh turns into Afghanistan, Yunus bows down to…, calls women anti-islamic for…

Bangladesh is witnessing an alarming rise in religious extremism, with radical groups tightening their grip on society. Below the affect of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the nation appears to be slipping in direction of a Taliban-indulge in rule. Ignore Hindus—now even Muslim women are facing severe restrictions. Playing soccer, a easy sports activities, has now been branded as “anti-Islamic,” turning it accurate into a existence-threatening act.

The incident took characteristic after the religious extremists forcefully cancelled a public match featuring a eminent Bangladeshi movie actress just a few days in the past. Force additionally escalated final week in Joypurhat, where radical groups stormed a restaurant inauguration, compelling organizers to cancel the match attributable to stress from extremists. Soon after, the an identical groups declared that women’s soccer violated Islamic principles. Their outrage resulted in a mass gathering shut to Independence Square at Tilakpur railway situation, where hundreds of madrasa students and hardline clerics gathered after the Asr prayer.

“The Islamists in our characteristic gathered in a field and marched in direction of the venue. There had been hundreds of them,” match organiser Samiul Hasan Emon suggested the AFP records company. “The distress worsened, and we needed to cancel this day’s match.”

Several extremist leaders addressed the crowd, stating that Islam teaches women to live within particular boundaries and that promoting women’s sports activities encourages immorality. They issued a stern warning, nerve-racking an destroy to such activities, or else more severe consequences would apply.

Extremists’ rampage

After issuing threats, extremists stormed the soccer field, vandalizing the premises. Shockingly, they even live-streamed their actions on Facebook, aiming to ship a determined message that no future events keen women may be allowed. The radicals additionally centered one other women’s soccer match in Hakimpur Upazila, leading to clashes between protesters and match organizers, ensuing in a dozen injuries.

“Ladies’ soccer is un-Islamic,” acknowledged Abu Bakkar Siddique, a madrassa headmaster who participated in the demonstration. “It's our religious responsibility to cease the relaxation that goes in opposition to our beliefs.”

A identical incident occurred a day earlier in the close by city of Dinajpur, where one other women’s match turn out to be as soon as postponed following protests by Islamists wielding sticks. Authorities needed to evacuate avid gamers for his or her safety, per teacher Moniruzzaman Zia.

Bangladesh on the course to changing into one other Afghanistan

Whereas the Bangladeshi executive under Muhammad Yunus cracks down harshly on opposition protests, citing a zero-tolerance policy for public disorder, it stays restful when religious extremists violate women’s rights, disrupt public events, and forestall female soccer matches. The chief’s selective response raises issues that Bangladesh is step by step heading in direction of a converse of fundamentalist abet watch over, unprecedented indulge in Afghanistan.