BD bowler under fire over misogynist remarks

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Just days after his brilliant debut on the international stage, a Bangladeshi cricketer found himself embroiled Monday in controversy for misogynistic online posts that condemned working women.

The bowler Tanzim Sakib, who is only a fourth-year veteran of international cricket, took out India’s Rohit Sharma on his fourth delivery when the neighbours faced each other in the Asia Cup last Friday. He then remained calm in the final over and secured victory for Bangladesh.

The resulting adulation for the 20-year-old, though, turned to scorn from women´s rights activists and feminists after his misogynist social media posts came to light.

“If the wife works, the husband´s rights are not ensured,” Tanzim posted on Facebook last year. “If the wife works, the child´s rights are not ensured. If the woman works, she loses her elegance.

“If the wife is working, the family will be destroyed.” The veil is destroyed if the woman works. If the spouse works, the society is destroyed.” Women form the vast majority of the workforce of the garment factories that have driven much of Bangladesh´s economic growth in recent years. In the majority Muslim country, patriarchal attitudes are still prevalent.

Tanzim warned in another post that men would be unable to provide their sons with a “modest mother” if they marry “a woman used to freely mixing with her male university friends”.

The remarks sparked a backlash. Jannatun Nayeem Prity, a feminist writer based in Paris, pointed out that the Bangladesh jerseys were manufactured by factories staffed primarily by women.

“I feel sorry for you that you don´t consider your mother a normal human being,” she added. Swakrito Noman, a writer from Indonesia, described the comments in a widely shared Facebook post as “deeply offending”. He demanded that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), question Tanzim about the remarks and demand the player apologize.

Mejbaul Hasque, a Journalist, added on Monday: “The status quo of such distorted misogyny in the media is unacceptable.” It doesn’t matter how famous he is!

The BCB stated that it was investigating.

We are investigating the matter. Jalal Yunus, the chief of cricket operations at Bangladesh Cricket told AFP that they were looking into it. Tanzim, who helped Bangladesh win the Under-19 World Cup 2020, has played just 12 first class matches during his short senior career.