A trans activist’s scheduled speech at a Bangladeshi university’s career conference was cancelled last month after anti-trans Muslim fundamentalist students threatened to boycott classes if she appeared as planned.

The France-based human rights organization, JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), protested the cancellation of the appearance by Bangladeshi transgender woman Ho Chi Minh Islam at the Women’s Career Carnival.

The cancellation came under pressure from conservative student groups at North South University. JMBF believes that the discriminatory treatment of Ho Chi Minh Islam, solely because she is a transgender woman, is a blatant violation of Bangladesh’s Supreme Law Constitution and the universal human rights declared by the United Nations.

On Nov. 24-25, two organizations, Heroes for All and ISOSHAL, organized the Women’s Career Carnival at the North South University campus. The event aimed to empower women through networking, learning, and professional development. Trans woman and rights activist Ho Chi Minh Islam was scheduled to participate as a speaker in a session on Nov. 24. Her speech was intended to address the inclusion of marginalized communities in the workforce and the creation of an inclusive environment for their work. After Ho Chi Minh Islam was invited as a speaker, Muslim fundamentalist groups initiated propaganda against her through various media, including the Facebook page “Islamic for Practitioner NSU.” This misinformation campaign aimed to incite North South University students against her, spreading a misinterpretation of religion, JMBF said.

Students emailed university authorities, demanding the cancellation of her speech, claiming it promoted homosexuality. They threatened to boycott all university classes if their demands were not met. On Nov. 24, as students began protesting on the North South University campus with banners, the event’s organizers cancelled Ho Chi Minh Islam’s scheduled session, citing concerns for her safety.

Advocate Shahanur Islam, founder president of JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) and human rights lawyer, condemned the cancellation, saying that it was motivated solely because she is a transgender woman. The cancellation showed the escalating influence of reactionary fundamentalist forces in the country, he said, even though universities should be spaces for the free exchange of knowledge across diverse ideologies. JMBF asserts that the cancellation was part of the broader trend of violence, torture, and discrimination against sexual minorities in Bangladesh. Since June of this year, reactionary fundamentalist groups have been spreading misinformation to discredit Shahanur Islam and JMBF in Bangladesh through various media, including Facebook, he said.

Shahanur Islam demanded swift legal action against those spreading propaganda against sexual minorities and called for exemplary punishment. Simultaneously, the organization urged the enactment and enforcement of the Sexual Minorities Protection and Rights Act by repealing Section 377 of the Penal Code to eliminate all forms of discrimination and establish rights for sexual minorities.

Ho Chi Minh Islam is a young trans woman activist who has worked for the Bangladeshi human rights organization No Passport Voice. She founded the community-based organization Krishnachura, which focuses on providing spaces for safe dialogue to gender minorities in rural Bangladesh. She worked as a frontline health worker during the pandemic, when she was employed as the first transgender nurse at Square Hospital.

As a young leader working for social change in Bangladesh, she was recognized and trained as a fellow of Acumen Academy in 2022.

Hochemin Islam, a prominent transgender rights activist and a nurse by profession, was set to speak at a career fest on November 24 at the capital's North South University (NSU). The event, titled "Women's Career Carnival," was organised by Heroes for All and iSocial Limited, and hosted by NSU and its Career and Placement Center (CPC). As part of a panel with the International Labour Organization, Hochemin was planning to speak on how a workplace could be made inclusive for members of marginalised communities and how such disadvantaged individuals can be assimilated into the labour force equitably.

However, since the evening before the event was set to take place, calls began being exchanged between the organisers and NSU authority regarding protests from a certain section of the university's student body. The students were opposed to Hochemin coming to their university and speaking. In a formal letter to the university's vice chancellor—headed "Letter of objection and notification about Criminal activity as per Bangladesh penal code chapter 16 article 377 inside our NSU campus and the Promotion of Homosexuality (Transgenderism & LGBTQIA+) on November 24, 2023"—they attempted to "highlight that a significant majority of NSU students practice various religions, and according to Bangladesh penal code chapter-15, article-295A, it is illegal to incite outrage of religious feelings…" and urged the VC "to intervene and advise the CPC against allowing this misunderstanding to escalate, potentially causing distress among the majority religious community." The night before the event, NSU authorities went back and forth regarding whether Hochemin could be allowed to speak at the event or not. But as tensions escalated, they decided against bringing Hochemin in for the event, citing concerns regarding her safety. But the hate campaign against this inspiring person—who has struggled against hatred and hurdles all her life—still continues, with even death threats being hurled her way. Institutes of higher education are meant to be havens of free speech and thinking. In a way, it is commendable that this particular university has created an environment wherein students can confidently approach the authorities with any complaints they may have. That said, the protesting group's actions and words so far suggest a lack of knowledge of and familiarity with people from marginalised communities, and specifically individuals from the transgender community. Most concerningly, the theme of the protest betrays a kind of restrictive mentality which hinders human rights. And here, the university and the University Grants Commission (by extension) have a central role to play.

Given that the university in question is indeed a practitioner of citizens' rights as enshrined in our constitution, it must educate its students in line with the values promoted by the state. Seeing as all citizens—including Hochemin Islam—are equal before the law of the country, it is disgraceful for a university to bow to pressure from a likely misinformed/miseducated section of its vast student body. NSU boasts the privilege and responsibility of educating more than 22,000 students. Hence, it is quite incredulous that they were not confident they could have ensured the safety of just one person on their premises. In a similar vein, one cannot help but feel disturbed by what kind of discipline the students are being taught if a guest speaker could need protection from them. A better way of dealing with this situation would have been for the university higher-ups to sit down with the protesting students and hold a civil discussion with them. The NSU authorities should also have done everything in their power to ensure that Hochemin could safely speak at the event. Instead, in the eyes of many young people, this leading private university has validated an act of blatant discrimination.

In its press release regarding the situation, dated November 26, NSU failed to acknowledge the deeply concerning nature of the protesting students' agenda. The statement instead focused on clarifying that, at the time of the event, the VC was abroad and that there is currently no pro-VC instated to represent the VC in his absence. But how does that matter? Again, NSU is a university of massive scale. Whether or not Hochemin's safety could have been ensured should not be dependent on the VC's presence alone.

As an alumna of the university in question, I must voice that I feel disheartened. My four years at NSU represent a time when I was able to flourish intellectually. The pursuit of my degree itself encouraged me to think freely and critically; question everything but hinder no one. I believe now that either the institution and its values have changed drastically over the past couple of years, or that it is doing a shabbier job of becoming a world-class university. A tragedy, indeed. I hope the higher education institutions of the country—and especially the ones working intently to claim a place in the global rankings of universities every year—will perform their duty of educating students to be tolerant free thinkers. What has been done in Hochemin Islam's case is nothing but discrimination and a clear disregard of her human rights. The NSU authorities must assume responsibility for this by carrying out an investigation and taking due actions regarding those who have fuelled this hate campaign. As for long-term measures to prevent such shameful incidents from taking place at any other university, the UGC must be more involved in ensuring human rights and the practice of basic tolerance at Bangladesh's higher education institutes.