Levka
"Umama Fatema, the defiant woman who played a significant role by staying at the forefront of the July uprising, said protests erupted when ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina labelled quota reform protesting students as 'Razakars'.
We saw Sheikh Hasina label the protesting students as ‘Razakars’. In response, we chanted slogans: 'Who are you, who am I?, Razakar, razakar! Who said it? Who said it? Dictator! Dictator!' Everyone who participated in this movement was born after 1971—none of us were Razakars. We’ve seen this before: whenever there’s a just and rational movement, the government tried to delegitimize it by calling protesters Razakars or tagging them with other labels. Our protest that day was a direct challenge to that toxic narrative—we were determined to break that taboo.
On that night, Umama said, agitating students of Dhaka University (DU) brought out processions on the Dhaka university campus protesting the insulting tag 'Razakar' called by fascist Sheikh Hasina. And we drove out leaders of banned Chhatra League from halls of DU.
Female students took bold stance despite repeated threats of law enforcement agencies and they remained firm for continuing the movement.
The government feared these courageous students more than any opposition party. The fight against systemic injustice eventually became a nationwide protest for change.
In this gripping first-hand account with BSS, Umama Fatema – one of the key coordinators of Anti Discrimination Student Movement which later ended with the fall of Awami League regime -- reveals how female students braved batons, blockades, to lead one of the most volatile uprising in the country’s recent history.
Below is the in-depth interview shedding light on the struggles, resilience, and strategic mobilization that helped shape the movement."
IndiaNewsWatch
