An influential Islamist group’s rally drew thousands to the streets of capital, Dhaka, on Saturday.
As many as 20,000 people turned out to show support for the Hefazat-e-Islam group that laid out a list of demands for Bangladesh’s interim government.
They opposed government proposals that include equal inheritance rights for women, a ban on polygamy, and recognition of sex workers as laborers.
Mamunul Haque, a leader of Hefazat-e-Islam, claimed some of the recommendations proposed by the interim government hurt “the sentiments of the majority of the people of this country” by labeling the religious laws of inheritance as the main cause of inequality between men and women.
Some supporters on Saturday carried banners and placards reading “Say no to Western laws on our women, rise up Bangladesh” near Dhaka University.
The group also threatened to organize nationwide rallies on May 23 if the interim government didn’t meet its demands.
Islamist parties on the rise
Islamist parties have increased their visibility since last year, after mass protests forced her to resign.
An interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus then took the helm, backed by the influential military.
Hefazat-e-Islam is one party , the party of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to be banned.
Following similar pressure from other Islamist parties, the Yunus caretaker government banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League party, labeling it a “terrorist organization” on October 24.
The Yunus government also withdrew a ban on the country’s largest Islamist party last August, reversing a decision by the Hasina government.
Yunus has been under and has so far said that election dates could be decided by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
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