Students have criticised the newly launched student organisation, Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, for its failure to form an inclusive central committee, saying that about 90 per cent of the committee members was men and most of them were from the University of Dhaka.
On February 26, conflict surfaced over the announcement of the new student organisation led by a group of leaders of the Students Against Discrimination that spearheaded the July-August mass uprising, forcing the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, 2024.
The committee announcement created conflict, leading scuffles at the launching venue amid allegations of ignoring private university students.
The Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad early Friday published its 222-member central convening committee.
In the central convening committee, there are 27 female students. And in the 250-member committee of the Dhaka University unit, about 25 female students are included.
Students from different areas across the country reacted sharply to the committees immediately after those were announced.
At least four committee members resigned, revealing the apparent division among the leaders of the student organisation.
The day the committees were announced, about 20 students, including women, were injured after students clashed over protests at the overwhelming dominance of Dhaka University students in the organisation.
Wasif Tajwar, an Independent University, Bangladesh student and former July uprising private university coordinator, said that the newly announced committees were not in any way inclusive in terms of the ratios of male and female leaders.
He stated that there was a severe lack of discussions with all stakeholders before selecting one for a post.
鈥楢s the committee has already sparked controversy, students have started resigning from it. Many will resign in the upcoming days,鈥� said Wasif.
Referring to some names of the private university female students, Wasif said that they were ignored in the committee despite they proved their leadership quality in organising the mass uprising and in the Students Against Discrimination鈥檚 private university wing.
The central committee includes about 30 students from public universities, excluding those of the Dhaka University.
About 40 students from private universities, 15 students from formerly Dhaka University-affiliated seven colleges and about 10 madrasa students are also part of the committee, according to Zahid Ahsan, the organisation鈥檚 central committee鈥檚 member secretary.
Asked why the number of women in the organisation was low, he told 抖阴精品, 鈥楢mong the top four members of our central committee, one is a woman. As the committee expands, the number of women will increase. I don鈥檛 think the current committee has too few women.鈥�
However, the organisation鈥檚 central joint convener, Rupaiya Shrestha Tanchangya, told 抖阴精品, 鈥業 don鈥檛 think the number of women in the organisation is sufficient. It should have been higher.鈥�
鈥楬owever, the central leadership is very committed to increasing women鈥檚 participation in organisational activities,鈥� said Rupaiya Shrestha.
On the low participation of women in politics, she said, 鈥楯oining a movement and being actively involved in mainstream politics are not the same. In our society, there are still many social barriers to women鈥檚 participation. I know many women who do not engage in political activities due to personal discomfort.鈥�
She said that in the past the negative aspects of student politics, especially within the Bangladesh Chhatra League, which is now banned, had discouraged many women from joining politics.
鈥楬owever, we believe that a healthier student political environment in the future will encourage more women to participate in politics,鈥� she added.
After the announcement of the full committee, former Students Against Discrimination Rajshahi University coordinators, Mehedy Sajeeb and Salauddin Ammar, announced their resignation from their posts.
They announced their decisions to step down from the posts of joint convener and joint member secretary, respectively, through Facebook posts.
The organisation鈥檚 central committee organiser, Shyamoli Sultan Jidni, also announced her resignation. On February 27 night, in a Facebook post, she said, 鈥業 am consciously resigning from the post of 鈥渙rganiser鈥� of the central committee.鈥�
East West University student and Students Against Discrimination leader Shahjadi Fananna Kotha said that not only the private university students but also students across the country had already denounced the committee.
She said that students fought against discrimination with unity under the Students Against Discrimination platform and they would not accept any organisation that began its journey with discrimination breaking the unity.
Rifat Rashid, who was announced the senior joint member secretary of the organisation, resigned from the central committee on February 27.
In the evening of February 26, a group of private university students blocked Banglamotor road in front of the Students Against Discrimination office, protesting at the committee formation and the scuffles.
A group of students of the Government Titumir College on February 27 held a rally on their campus, condemning the DU campus conflict.
A group of students under the banner of combined private universities in Chattogram held a rally in the port city against the attack on private university students on the DU campus.
