A video showing students chanting “Hijab! Hijab!” has gone viral on social media, with claims that Dhaka University’s Muslim students have demanded mandatory hijab for girls.
Some accounts shared the video with captions such as: “Majority Muslim students demand mandatory hijab at Dhaka University, threatening the freedom and safety of Hindu minority girls on campus – student protest for Sharia law?”
Posts making the same claim can be seen here, here, here, here.
Fact-Check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that the claim that Dhaka University Muslim students demanded mandatory hijab for girls is false. The students did not chant “Hijab, Hijab” to call for making hijab mandatory. Instead, they raised the slogan as a form of protest in response to an earlier incident.
We found that the “Hijab, Hijab” chants occurred only after the victory of a particular candidate in the Dhaka University Students’ Union elections was announced. The candidate, Sabikunnahar Tamanna, a hijab–niqab-wearing student, contested the election for the Executive Member position under the Shibir-backed Oikkoboddho Shikkharthi Jot (United Students’ Alliance) panel.
On the first day of the DUCSU election campaign, an incident occurred involving the tearing down of the United Students’ Alliance banner and the malicious distortion of photographs. On that day, the picture of several candidates including Sabikunnahar Tamanna, featured on an election festoon, was distorted. Many interpret this act as reflecting hijabophobia and broader anti-Muslim sentiment.
In a statement on August 26, the United Students’ Alliance said: “We placed our banners fully in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Election Commission. However, a terrorist group deliberately carried out this disgraceful act to disrupt our activities. Through the distortion of the photograph, they targeted religious sentiments and hijabophobia.”
In the DUCSU election held on September 9, Sabikunnahar Tamanna was elected to the Member position with the highest number of votes. When her name and vote count were announced at the Senate Building of Dhaka University, she stood up, and shortly afterward, the students present began chanting “Hijab! Hijab!”
The video of the “Hijab” chants was seen shared on social media with captions such as:
“Sabikunnahar Tamanna, who faced ridicule for wearing a hijab, received over 10,000 votes and was elected first to the Member position. That is why students are chanting ‘Hijab! Hijab!’”
SM Farhad, elected as the DUCSU General Secretary from the United Students’ Alliance, spoke to journalists about the hijab chants. In response to a question, he said: “Why did this (hijab chant) happen in Sabikunnahar Tamanna’s case? Her photo had been distorted by drawing horns near the Fine Arts building, and her hijab was targeted. This was a symbolic reflection of hijab-phobia. That’s why students raised their voices that day—to send the message that hijab-phobia should not exist at the university. In a university, no one should secretly distort someone’s photo or harass them in their department just because they wear a hijab or choose a particular dress. The students’ chants were a response to this specific issue. Unfortunately, the country’s media has misrepresented the chants.”
Thus, the “Hijab” chants inside the Senate building at Dhaka University occurred solely as a form of protest against alleged hijab-phobia, following the announcement of the victory of a particular candidate whose photograph had been distorted earlier. The chants had nothing to do with demanding that hijab be made mandatory, and the students present did not make any such demand.
Therefore, the claim that Dhaka University’s Muslim students demanded mandatory hijab for girls is false.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner Investigation
- Media Reports
- Social Media posts
