How the earthquake exposed the gender divide in Bangladesh – Global Voices

A society that guards women's bodies even in moments of survival. Cover remix by Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay, used with permission

On the morning of January 21 this year, a devastating 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook Bangladesh, killing at least 10 people and injuring many others. The offices had just opened, while some people were still at home getting ready for the day, when the furniture and hanging articles suddenly started shaking at around 10:38 AM.

From Narsingdi to Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna and Sylhet, people rushed out of their offices and homes in panic as tremors spread across the country. Many said that they had never witnessed such severe shaking in the heart of the capital before. Social media was quickly filled with posts describing the fear and confusion of those moments.

But it wasn't just tectonic plates rubbing against each other; Soon, gender politics in Bangladesh began to fracture as well. As buildings swayed and the entire nation ran for safety, the country's collective online conscience decided that this was the perfect moment to ask a truly urgent question: Should a woman put on her hijab or headscarf before running for her life? “Yes,” was the response from some quarters. As the ground was cracking, a section of the country was more concerned about whether women were adequately “covered” as they evacuated collapsed buildings. Within minutes, Bangladeshi social media split into two warring camps: one insisting that hijab and scarves should be worn even during an earthquake, and the other asking why we expect women to carry this invisible burden in the midst of a natural disaster.

One woman narrated how she refused to be evacuated because her salwar was too thin. Another lamented the cultural anxiety summed up in that immortal Bengali question: “What will people say?” Activist Seema Akhtar put it more bluntly: “When an earthquake hits, people try to save their lives. Women in Bangladesh search for their scarves.” If she was wrong.

Every time the ground shakes, Bangladesh somehow manages to turn the disaster into a referendum on women's clothing. This was no exception. Before emergency plans, before structural safety assessments, before holding the state accountable, the country found itself embroiled in another culture war over the hijab and the hijab. And then came the inevitable chorus of self-appointed moral guardians – cis Bengali Muslim men – who lectured women on piety during the country's Emergency. Many of them confidently declared that women should cover themselves first because the earthquake was a sign of “God's wrath,” and claimed that a woman's modesty was more important than her safety. If this is the level of public discourse during a natural disaster, what hope is there? Their posts went viral. Their arrogance has gone unchecked.

Let's be clear, I'm not a theologian. Naturally, I did what any reasonable person living in the 21st century would do: I Googled it. Surprisingly, there is no Islamic command requiring a woman to stop in the middle of an evacuation to get a scarf. In fact, Islamic jurisprudence is very clear on emergency situations. The basic Islamic principle says that preserving life comes first. If a woman is harmed, fleeing to save her life is preferable to maintaining modest clothing.

Logic is not that difficult. If you've stopped praying to survive an earthquake, you can walk out of the building completely unashamed. Life comes first. However, in a way, patriarchy comes even before life.

So why do women still look for scarves during disasters? This is because patriarchy and social norms have encoded humility, shame, and fear so deeply that even in mortal danger, the social gaze seems more threatening than the ground trembling beneath their feet.

Should we make fun of these women? Absolutely not. They are victims of a system designed to discipline them. Should we attack those who express their frustration online? Also no. Their anger is equally justified. What must be questioned is the culture that forces women to choose between survival and “respect.” Ultimately, it's all about your own choice. May you always be well and in peace. There is no problem, and we pray to God for mercy and safety.

Although Bangladesh is not a Muslim-majority country where women are legally obligated to follow Islamic dress codes, many still face subtle but constant pressure from their families to do so. Refusal to wear a head covering often leads to women being shamed by their families, neighbors and strangers. Although Article 28 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and affirms that men and women are equal in all areas of public life, this right exists only on paper. Women do not feel able to exercise their sacred right to live as free and independent women due to the structure of patriarchal society.

A recent study conducted by the Manoucher Juno Foundation and DNET reveals the depth of this culture:

44% believe that veiled women are “good girls.”

66% say that women who follow religious rules are “good girls.”

63% classify women who wear “Western clothing” as “bad girls” who destroy society.

With statistics like these, is it any surprise that even after that deadly earthquake, the nation was obsessed not with emergency response systems or building safety but with who wears the hijab?

It is noteworthy that since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's regime in August 2024, gender-based violence has escalated significantly in Bangladesh. Moreover, radical Islamists take advantage of political instability, weaponizing religion in the hands of the police, and silencing and controlling women. Sports, entertainment and public life – women's participation is pushed back into the shadows.

The January 21 earthquake did not create this dysfunction; Expose it.

Perhaps the most glaring example of double standards in Bangladesh came from the CCTV footage of Shahidullah Hall, Dhaka University, one of the oldest hostels of Dhaka University. Male students rushed downstairs during the earthquake, wearing towels, shorts or even topless. No one lectured them about humility. No one accused them of inciting divine wrath. No one ordered them to cover up.

What law will regulate them? What is the fatwa that will shame them?

This double standard thrives in a political climate that has become increasingly hostile toward women recently. On May 23 this year, Hefazat-e-Islam (a Deobandi Islamic advocacy group) called for protests across the country to demand the cancellation of the Women’s Reform Commission report, calling it an “immoral commission.”

Similarly, the Bangladesh Bank in July issued an advisory requiring female employees to wear sarees or salwar kameez with scarves, banning short sleeves and tight trousers, and limiting the hem length. Given everything that's happening now, it's not hard to guess why this guideline was introduced. Since the July uprising in Bangladesh, there has been a desperate attempt to implement and shape a particular cultural sphere, and what we are witnessing today reflects this collective effort.

If you're wondering how far this can go, take a look at Afghanistan. At around midnight on the last night of August, the country experienced a catastrophic earthquake that killed about 2,000 people, injured thousands, and damaged health facilities and homes. Across the devastated villages in the mountainous Nurgal district of Kunar, wounded women lie under the rubble and cannot be examined because there are no female health workers and Taliban rules prevent male doctors from touching them. Women literally died because men's rules were more sacred than women's lives.

Is Bangladesh heading towards the same abyss? Maybe not yet. But it's definitely moving towards becoming a utopia for cis and hetero male supremacy. In the power vacuum that followed the fall of Sheikh Hasina, a new model of Islamic masculinity emerged across Bangladesh, characterized by anti-Awami League sentiment, anti-secularism, anti-religious dogmatism, misogyny, and extreme Bangladeshi nationalism. This figure, often referred to as the “monotheistic Muslim man,” has ascended to the role of moral arbiter, policing women’s clothing, restricting their movement, and enforcing strict religious rules in both public and private life. The psyche of Bangladeshi Muslim males still sees men as “everyone” (majority) and women as “nobody” (minority) and tends to treat patriarchy not as a system but as a natural order. It hides misogyny under the guise of religious rectitude, ensuring that women internalize the police until they impose it on themselves.

This is why unlearning is necessary. Hijabi and non-hijabi women must question the same internalized misogyny, the conditioning that makes them feel responsible for honor, modesty, and purity. Religion and culture have long been used as shields for gender discrimination. Women must reject this burden together, and if they do not fight back now, this decline will only get worse over time.

Change will not come overnight. But this will never happen if women remain confined to discussions about the hijab while the nation collapses economically, politically and morally.

That Friday morning, the ground shook. But what shook us the most was in the moment of life and death, where Bangladesh asked, “Are you safe?” But “Are you covered?”

Until this question stops being asked, no disaster management plan will be able to save the nation.

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