Farzana Sithi and the struggle for women’s rights after the 2024 uprising ^{CEFR B2}

Farzana Sithi is a student activist from Jessore and a volunteer with The Hunger Project, Bangladesh. She became prominent during the youth-led July–August 2024 uprising, which helped force top government officials to step down. Sithi emerged as a leading voice for women’s rights; supporters called her the "Tigress" and the "Iron Lady". At the same time she faced sustained online harassment and smear campaigns.

Sithi argues the uprising has been appropriated and commercialised. New parties and alliances have claimed to be the revolution’s heirs, creating conflicts over ownership and betraying the spirit of the movement. She invoked a warning from Walter Benjamin that "Behind every fascist there is a failed revolution," and says repeating old mistakes is a real danger.

She describes the situation since August 5, 2024 as catastrophic for women. She reports an increase in religious and gender-based discrimination, more public lynchings and mob violence, easier access to illegal arms, and routine harassment of women. Women are 51 percent of Bangladesh’s population, and Sithi says mob assaults, sexual abuse and online harassment have become routine. She has faced personal cyberbullying for more than a year and accuses the interim government of doing nothing to protect women or to defend the commission’s proposals.

• Many martyrs remain unaccounted for.
• DNA tests are unfinished.
• Families have not received basic information.
• The interim government refuses to provide closure while the state holds concerts and commemorations.

Sithi also notes that a recommended quota for women candidates was reduced through bargaining: from 35 percent to 10 percent, then to 5 percent, and finally fixed at 10 percent. She sees this as proof that ruling powers fear women with real political agency. She urges rebuilding unity, organising against diversionary tactics, and reclaiming solidarity, warning that women will return to the streets to demand change if attacks continue.