Stuck between survival and modesty: How an earthquake revealed Bangladesh’s gender fault line

December 3, 2025

Following a devastating 5. 7-magnitude earthquake in Bangladesh on January 21 that killed at least 10 people, social media erupted into debate over whether women should wear hijabs or headscarves before evacuating dangerous buildings. While men fled freely in minimal clothing without criticism, women faced pressure to prioritize modest dress over their own safety, with some refusing to evacuate due to concerns about their appearance.

Who is affected

Women across Bangladesh, particularly in Dhaka, Narsingdi, Mymensingh, Khulna, and Sylhet who faced pressure to cover themselves during evacuation
At least 10 people killed and many more injured in the earthquake
Activist Seema Akhter and other women who spoke out about the cultural pressures
Female students at Dhaka University's Shahidullah Hall
Female employees at Bangladesh Bank subject to dress code restrictions
Women in Afghanistan who died under Taliban rules prohibiting male doctors from treating them
The Women's Reform Commission, branded as the "Slut Commission" by Hefazat-e-Islam

What action is being taken

Radical Islamists are capitalizing on political instability to police, silence, and control women
Women's participation in sports, entertainment, and public life is being pushed back
The Bangladesh Bank has issued an advisory requiring female employees to wear sarees or salwar-kameez with scarves, banning short sleeves and leggings, and dictating hemline length
Hefazat-e-Islam called for nationwide protests demanding the scrapping of the Women's Reform Commission report

Why it matters

This incident exposes how deeply patriarchal norms have been internalized in Bangladeshi society, where women feel social judgment is more threatening than life-threatening natural disasters. The debate reveals dangerous double standards, as men evacuated freely without criticism while women faced moral policing. Since Sheikh Hasina's regime fell in August 2024, gender-based violence has drastically surged and a new model of conservative Muslim masculinity has emerged that actively restricts women's freedoms. This regression threatens to push Bangladesh toward an Afghanistan-like situation where religious and cultural rules become more important than women's lives, undermining constitutional guarantees of gender equality that exist only on paper.

What's next

The author calls for women to interrogate and unlearn internalized misogyny, reject the burden of religious and cultural shields for gender discrimination, and resist together before the regression worsens. However, no explicit institutional or governmental next steps are stated in the article.

Read full article from source: Global Voices