Tanzim Hasan Sakib’s misogynist remarks puts him under fire; BCB investigates

In his debut in Asia Cup, Sakib took the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma with only his fourth delivery in international cricket, before holding his nerve in the final over to secure victory for Bangladesh.

However, the resulting admiration that followed his performance in Asia Cup quickly turned to condemnation from women’s rights activists and feminists following his misogynist social media posts about the working women came to light.

“If the wife works, the husband’s rights are not ensured,” Tanzim posted on Facebook last year. “If the wife works, the child’s rights are not ensured. If the wife works, her elegance is damaged.”

“If the wife works, the family is ruined. If the wife works, the veil is ruined. If the wife works, society is ruined,” Tanzim Facebook post added.

In another post, Tanzim warned men that their sons would not have a “modest” mother if they married “a woman who is accustomed to free mixing with her male friends in a university”.

Tanzim’s comments have provoked a backlash. The Bangladesh team jerseys were made in factories mostly staffed by women, Paris-based feminist writer Jannatun Nayeem Prity pointing out.

“I feel sorry for you that you don’t consider your mother a normal human being,” AFP reported Prity as saying.

Writer Swakrito Noman described the comments as “deeply offensive” in a widely-shared Facebook post, demanding the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) question Tanzim and the player apologise.

“The status of such a distorted form of misogyny is unacceptable. No matter how big a star he is!,” AFP quoted Journalist Mejbaul Haque as saying.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board said it was investigating the matter.

“The issue came to our attention. We are looking into the matter,” BCB operations chief Jalal Yunus told AFP.

Updated: 19 Sep 2023, 08:02 PM IST