The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) intensified its criticism of Jamaat-e-Islami, openly questioning the credibility of Jamaat Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman’s claim that his social media account was hacked following a widely condemned anti-women post.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Gulshan election office on Sunday, BNP Election Steering Committee spokesperson Mahdi Amin highlighted the suspicious timing of the hacking report.

“After facing strong criticism over a misogynistic post, the hacking claim was made around 1 am. How reasonable is it to make such a claim nine hours later?” Mahdi Amin asked, noting that the controversial post had already triggered massive public outcry.

The BNP spokesperson pointed out significant inconsistencies in the timeline provided by Jamaat.

According to a General Diary (GD) filed with Hatirjheel Police Station, the hacking was detected at 4:55 pm on January 31, yet the official report was filed nearly 12 hours later.

“If that is true, why was the GD filed nearly 12 hours later? Is there any reasonable explanation for this delay?” he questioned.

He further noted that during the alleged hacking period, the Ameer's Facebook account remained active with several posts, none of which mentioned any security breach on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

The post in question, made at 4:37 pm on January 31, allegedly compared women’s participation in public life to prostitution. Amin, who also serves as an adviser to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, described this as part of a historical pattern of misogyny.

He stated, “The language used by the Jamaat Ameer and the mindset reflected in the controversial post are unacceptable in any civilised society. This is a clear expression of misogyny.”

He added that such rhetoric “reflects an attempt to push society back into medieval darkness.”

The BNP also criticized Jamaat’s political structure, noting the absence of female parliamentary candidates and a lack of women in top leadership roles.

Mahdi Amin remarked on the irony of the party’s current campaign tactics, asking, “Yet, the women of that party are going door to door collecting people’s NID cards and bKash numbers. Is this their so-called justice?”

Reiterating the BNP’s commitment to gender equality, Mahdi Amin reminded the public of the vital role women played in the 1971 Liberation War and the July 2024 mass uprising.

“We will not accept any injustice, oppression or abuse against them. BNP will not accept it, and Bangladesh will not accept it,” he declared.

He concluded by asserting that “there will be no compromise, no fear and no retreat when it comes to protecting the dignity of women across the country and in online spaces.”

With Inputs from UNB