Tanzim Hasan Shakib apologises for misogynist remarks: Bangladesh Cricket Board

A Bangladeshi cricketer has apologised for social media posts condemning working women but denied he was a misogynist because “his mother is a woman”, the country’s cricket board said Tuesday. Tanzim Hasan Sakib took the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma with only his fourth international delivery when the neighbours met in the Asia Cup last week before helping secure victory for Bangladesh. But the resulting adulation for the 20-year-old turned to scorn from women’s rights activists and feminists after his misogynist social media posts came to light. “He said he was sorry,” Bangladesh Cricket Board cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus told reporters in Dhaka. He added that Tanzim had been warned not to make similar social media posts in the future but also said the bowler had insisted he was “not misogynistic”. “He said he is not against women, as his mother is a woman,” Jalal said. Tanzim’s posts, dating back to last year, criticised women who joined the labour force and those who mixed with “male friends in a university”. “If the wife works, her elegance is damaged,” Tanzim wrote in one Facebook post. “If the wife works, the family is ruined. If the wife works, the veil is ruined. If the wife works, society is ruined.” Women form the vast majority of the workforce of the garment factories that have driven much of Bangladesh’s economic growth in recent years. But conservative patriarchal attitudes remain widespread in the majority Muslim country. The comments provoked a backlash, with Paris-based feminist writer Jannatun Nayeem Prity pointing out that the Bangladesh team jerseys were made in factories mostly staffed by women. “I feel sorry for you that you don’t consider your mother a normal human being,” she added. Tanzim has played 12 first-class matches in his short senior career, after helping Bangladesh win the Under-19 World Cup in 2020.