This year, Mumitul Mimma, associate editor of the features section of the newly launched newspaper Agamir Somoy, said she was harassed for not wearing an orna (scarf).
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Mumitul Mimma said that on April 11, while on his way to work, an elderly man came up to him in front of the TK building in Caravan Bazaar and said, “Hey, you should be wearing Orna. Why aren’t you wearing it?”
Mumtul alleged that when she asked the man why he was making such comments, he became aggressive towards her. When she tried to record the incident on video as evidence, the man twisted her arm and snatched her mobile phone. She said several other people arrived later, took the man’s side and scolded him, before quickly leaving the scene with him.
Mumtul said there is a deliberate effort, backed by political patronage, to curb the personal freedom of women and control their lifestyle through misogynistic behaviour. He said such trends are gradually turning conservatism into the “new normal”.