Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chair Tarique Rahman on Monday warned that women’s dignity and safety would be at risk if a certain political party that demeaned and humiliated women was allowed to come to state power.

Addressing an election rally in Khulna, he said that history had already shown the consequences of such attitudes, referring to events in 1971, as a reminder of how women could be subjected to abuse.

Tarique accused a political party of insulting women, rejecting female leadership, and exploiting religion for political gain.

He said that women made up half of the country’s population and argued that no development or national reconstruction was possible if they were pushed to the margins.

He also criticised remarks by a party leader about working women, describing the language used as shameful and offensive, particularly in a country where millions of women contribute to household incomes and the garment industry.

Tarique also accused the party of dishonesty, saying it prioritised self-interest and selectively used religion to serve its political objectives.

He referred to recent criticism following the controversial remarks by the party’s top leader, after which the party claimed that the leader’s social media account had been hacked.

Citing expert opinions, Tarique said that social media accounts could not be hacked in the manner claimed, accusing both the leader and the party of lying to the public ahead of the election.

He said that those who had repeatedly lied before large audiences could not be considered people-friendly or be conforming to what public aspire.

A highly slated post about the working women on the verified X account of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami amir Shafiqur Rahman went viral on Saturday.

The post said, ‘We believe that when women are taken out of their homes in the name of modernity, they face exploitation, moral degradation, and insecurity; this is nothing but another form of prostitute [prostitution].’

The post spread rapidly, drawing condemnation from political parties, rights activists, and social media users. Later, around Sunday midnight, the Jamaat-e-Islami announced from the same X handle that the party chief’s account had been hacked.

Drawing on a religious context, Tarique said that Islam did not oppose women’s economic participation, noting that Prophet Muhammad’s wife Khadijah was a businesswoman.

He questioned how a party claiming to establish Islamic values could compare Bangladeshi women to something derogatory.

Tarique questioned the party’s intentions, asking voters what its behaviour might be after the election if it could speak disrespectfully about half of the population before the polls.

Reaffirming the BNP’s position, Tarique said that development was impossible without empowering women.

He pledged that if the BNP won the election on February 12, the party would distribute family cards to every household to help make women financially self-reliant so that they could stand on their own feet without depending on others.

Addressing women voters directly, he said that the time had come for them to decide how to respond to those who had insulted them.

Hinting at the Jamaat, Tarique also raised questions for the party’s female activists, asking them to reflect on how their leaders viewed women who worked outside the home for political or professional reasons.

He warned that a party whose leader could humiliate its own female workers could pose a serious threat to ordinary women if given power, recalling historical instances in 1971 when women were subjected to abuse by predecessors of the same political force.

Tarique alleged that a conspiratorial group had once again begun spreading misinformation, including claims that vote counting would be delayed.

He alleged that those spreading falsehood were the same forces that had demeaned women and launched covert attempts to undermine the democratic process.

Calling on the citizens to remain alert, Tarique urged voters, regardless of party affiliation, religion or ethnicity, to protect their voting rights so that they could not be taken away again after more than one decade of denial.

The BNP chair also said that Khulna had turned into a dead industrial city due to gas shortages and other longstanding problems.

He promised that if the BNP came to power, it would revive Khulna as a vibrant industrial hub.

Our Correspondent in Jashore reported: the BNP chair said that a party was undermining women.

A certain group, he went on to say, wants to confine our mothers and sisters inside their houses but ‘we need to work together – both men and women — to build the country. Tarique was speaking at a mammoth public rally at the Upashahar Degree College ground on Monday afternoon on the occasion of the February 12 Jatiya Sangsad elections.

The politics of the BNP, he further said, is for the soil, for the development of the people. At the end, Tarique introduced the 22 BNP-nominated candidates to the audience and urged them to vote for them.