CYBER-BULLYING in campus politics has become an organised assault on democracy that universities can no longer afford to ignore. In the lead-up to the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union election on September 9 and the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union election on September 11, female candidates face a torrent of online harassment designed to keep them off. Facebook pages and fake accounts, some masquerading as student forums, have spread defamatory posts branding women candidates as ‘immoral,’ ‘un-Islamic,’ or politically suspect. Campaign messages from female candidates are met not with debate but with misogynistic abuse, ridicule and fabricated allegations. In cases, photos of women have been crudely edited and paired with derogatory captions as part of the smear campaigns. Progressive women and those unwilling to align with dominant factions have borne the brunt of this abuse, prompting several to abandon plans to stand for elections. In Dhaka University, the administration has gone so far as to request that the telecoms regulator to shut down several Facebook groups until the polling day, noting that campaigns have become a serious electoral threat. In Jahangirnagar, progressive women report relentless personal attacks.
Such campaigns, left largely unchecked, have turned student politics into a hostile terrain for women, threatening their right to contest and to silence dissent. The deliberate targeting of women in campus elections is rooted in power dynamics and patriarchal norms. Progressive female candidates, particularly those who question dominant factions, advocate reforms or refuse to conform to traditional expectations, face the harshest online attacks. Cyber-bullying allows opponents to weaponise misogyny, turning digital platforms into spheres where women are vilified not for their ideas but for their gender and perceived political alignment. Such harassment has consequences. Several aspirants at both Dhaka and Jahangirnagar universities have withdrawn quietly from the race, unwilling to risk personal humiliation or damage to reputation. Others report psychological stress, social isolation and disruption in their academic work, creating an effect that discourages participation. Even when the authorities issue warnings or seek to disable vilifying pages, enforcement remains weak. This combination of targeted abuse, systemic impunity and weak institutional response consolidates the influence of dominant factions while keeping women off leadership. Cyber-bullying, thus, functions not merely as harassment but as an instrument of political control, suppressing women’s voices, undermining democratic legitimacy and deterring the emergence of candidates.
Universities should treat cyber-bullying as a form of electoral malpractice, tracing offenders, sanctioning panels that weaponise harassment and dismantling online platforms used to intimidate. Election commissions should implement early, transparent measures to protect female aspirants, ensuring that the price of participation is never personal vilification. Unless universities act decisively, student politics will remain captive to those who fear their voices most.
