War criminal Jamaat leader Sayeedi used to call DU and JU ‘brothel schools’ in speeches

Staff Correspondent

The slanderous and misogynistic statements made by Jamaat-e-Islami leaders about Dhaka University (DU) and Jahangirnagar University (JU) are not new. The party’s ideological stance has once again come under discussion with a series of derogatory comments from the past and present about educational institutions and female students.

Late Jamaat leader and convicted war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee used to publicly refer to Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University as ‘brothel schools’ in various waz mahfils. Video and audio records of these statements are still circulating on social media. At the same time, his statements about various women’s educational institutions including Eden College were extremely ugly and derogatory.

Recently, that old debate has taken on a new dimension with the statement of Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman. After allegations were raised that working women were called ‘whores’, female students, working women and women’s rights activists held a broom procession and protest program at Dhaka University on February 1, 2026. The procession, which started from the Raju sculpture, chanted the slogan – “How did hackers hack, calling them prostitutes and calling them ID back” – this is the slogan.

The protesters claimed that the Jamaat Ameer’s statement was not an isolated incident; rather, it was a manifestation of the party’s long-standing anti-women politics. They said that calling women’s participation in the workplace as ‘moral degradation’ or ‘adultery’ goes against women’s dignity, the constitution, and fundamental human rights.

A stronger context for this debate is provided by an interview with Al Jazeera by the Jamaat Ameer. In it, he clearly stated that women will never be able to become Ameer or top leaders in the Jamaat-e-Islami structure. His argument was that Allah has given different responsibilities to men and women; women’s main responsibility is to bear and raise children, which conflicts with responsibilities such as leadership. Analysts believe that Jamaat has not fielded any female candidates in the upcoming national elections as a reflection of this view.

Meanwhile, a post published by the Jamaat Ameer’s Verified X (formerly Twitter) account sparked fresh outrage. The post directly described women’s participation in the workplace as ‘another form of prostitution’ and was promoted with Jamaat’s election hashtag. Faced with widespread criticism, the post was deleted within half an hour, with claims that the ‘account was hacked’.

However, the claim of being ‘hacked’ has been widely questioned. Because the account was normally active before and after this and the statement in the controversial post is completely consistent with the position given in the Al Jazeera interview. Earlier, anti-women statements by Jamaat leaders have been published in the country’s top media.

Women’s rights activists say that calling DUCSU, university students, members of the Women’s Reform Commission, or working women ‘whores’ is an old political culture of Jamaat and its affiliates. They believe that the accusation of a Jamaat leader in Barguna calling DUCSU a ‘brothel’ is also part of that continuity.

In this context, the past speeches made by Delwar Hossain Sayeedi have come under renewed discussion. According to political analysts, the use of derogatory language about universities and women is linked to Jamaat’s ideological stance, which has not changed over time.

At the end of the broom procession, the protesters made it clear that they would not compromise on the issue of women’s dignity and equal rights. They also announced to further strengthen social and political resistance against Jamaat-e-Islami’s anti-women politics.