Thousands of Islamists rally in Bangladesh against proposed changes to women’s rights

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of supporters of an Islamist group rallied in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday to denounce proposed recommendations for ensuring equal rights, including ones related to property, for mainly Muslim women.

Leaders of the Hefazat-e-Islam group said the proposed legal reforms are contradictory to the Sharia law. More than 20,000 followers of the group rallied near the Dhaka University, some carrying banners and placards reading “Say no to Western laws on our women, rise up Bangladesh.”

The group threatened to organize rallies on May 23 across the country if the government didn’t meet their demands.

Mamunul Haque, a leader of the group, demanded that the interim government’s reforms commission be abolished and its members punished for the proposed changes. He said they hurt “the sentiments of the majority of the people of this country” by labeling the religious laws of inheritance as the main cause of inequality between men and women.

The group’s leaders also demanded that the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad punus ban the Awami League party led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August. Hasina’s opponents accuse her government of killing hundreds of students and others during the uprising that ended her 15-year rule. Hasina has been in exile in India since her ouster.

Islamist groups in Bangladesh have increased their visibility since Hasina’s ouster, and minority groups have complained of being intimidated.