Ayesha Siddika Meghla, Assistant General Secretary of JaKSU from a Shibir-supported panel, has hailed Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s plan to hold a women’s “protest rally” at Suhrawardy Udyan on January 31 as a “game-changing move,” saying she is “waiting to hear the women’s wing speak for itself.”
In a post from her verified Facebook account on Tuesday, Meghla said she had long argued for a women-led mass gathering after Jamaat’s recent grand rally, despite skeptics who claimed logistics—women traveling from districts, attendance with mahram and children—made it impossible. Citing an earlier international program by Jamaat’s women’s wing, she asked why a similar assembly could not be organized in Dhaka, adding that the upcoming event is “the best opportunity” for the wing to present its own case.
Calling the initiative “Jamaat’s game-changing move,” Meghla compared it to the party’s pre-election policy summit, which she said “surprised many,” and predicted the women’s rally could do the same.
In a separate post, she criticized what she described as media double standards, noting intense coverage when a Jamaat leader used derogatory language about women—language she wrote is “never acceptable”—while alleging far less attention to instances where opposition leaders are accused of physical abuse against women. Meghla also contended that some self-described feminists do not equally defend the rights and safety of women who wear hijab or niqab.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s women’s division announced the January 31 “protest rally” at Suhrawardy Udyan as part of its ongoing public mobilization. Authorities have not reported any changes to the venue or schedule as of Tuesday evening.