From young athletes to photojournalists, Bangladeshi women chasing their dreams say Islamist groups are trying to tell them what they can and can't do.
00:00After weeks off the field, these girls are finally back at football practice.
00:06A few months ago, they were forced to cancel a match when a local Islamist group, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, said girls' sports were un-Islamic and rallied to stop them playing.
00:19Fearing unrest, police sent the players home for safety.
00:24Asha Roy's hopes were crushed.
00:26She says the real issue was the girls' uniforms.
00:30Others on the team agree.
00:55I am playing the football.
00:58I'm a big fan of my father, my big brother, and my youth.
01:02I have a lot of support.
01:03I've been told that I don't have a great time to play.
01:08I've been on the same time.
01:10I've been on the same time.
01:12I've been on the same time.
01:14I've been on the same time.
01:16I've been on my own.
01:18I've been on the same time.
01:20Playing football is not only a hobby, but serves as a livelihood for many players here.
01:27They see it as a way to rise up the social ladder.
01:50Several women's football matches in northern Bangladesh have already been cancelled due to objections from religious hardliners.
02:01But the pressure isn't limited to the pitch. It's also spilling over into public life.
02:07Jannatul Firdaus Laki is a photojournalist working in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.
02:13She recently went to cover an Islamist rally in support of Gaza.
02:18She says she faced aggressive behaviour from men while taking pictures at the rally.
02:46The pagans painted the wedding and the chowler said,
02:50she said to us, why are we mad at that?
02:52And she said we are mad at her.
02:54She looks mad at us before.
02:56She says we are mad at our farmer.
02:58She's mad at us when we are mad at us if she is mad at us?
03:02We don't have to tell her to say she is mad at us.
03:05In recent days, numerous reports have emerged of
03:35women facing intimidation and harassment by Islamist hardliners.
03:40Bangladesh is a country with a secular constitution and a Muslim majority.
03:45It is undergoing a political transition following widespread protests that ousted its government
03:51last year.
03:53An unelected interim administration is currently in power.
03:57It has said it intends to hold polls for an elected government but these have not yet
04:04been announced.
04:05The growing harassment of women by hardline Islamist groups, which were previously sidelined,
04:11comes as they grow emboldened once again amid the transitional state of the government.
04:17The interim government which established a Women's Affairs Reform Commission has proposed
04:22many reforms, including guaranteeing women's right to inheritance and increase in women's
04:28parliamentary representation and protection of sex workers.
04:32But hardline religious groups see the proposed changes as targeting Islamic values.
04:38Quraan hadith as a
04:56It is important that the community and the community has a great passion for us.
05:03We have to say that whatever the government has done.
05:08Hifazat-e-Islam, a coalition of Islamic groups, has staged mass rallies that brought the capital to a standstill.
05:15In fiery, emotionally charged speeches, they have fiercely condemned the proposed reforms.
05:23In the past, the government has a great passion for us.
05:30We have to say that the government has a great passion for us.
05:42The government says there is a need for a dialogue among different groups to reach a consensus.
06:09Only 10 recommendations were made controversial by some groups.
06:17But 413 recommendations are all agreed upon and from that we will choose those which we
06:28are able to implement within a short span of time.
06:35The recommendations where there is no controversy we will prioritize those and we are sitting
06:40in consultation both with the commission, women's groups and my ministry in selecting
06:47those priorities and we will start working on the reforms.
06:52At the 10 controversial issues we will initiate dialogues and we will invite these Islamic
07:02groups that have brought up this issue.
07:06But the women are standing their ground.
07:09At this protest in support of the commission many feel the government is not doing enough
07:14to stop growing pressure from hardliners.
07:21In the last few months the people of Bangladesh are standing their hands with the government.
07:25But the people of Bangladesh are standing their hands with the government is the same as the
07:29government.
07:30And the government is the same as the government is the same as the government.
07:34They are obviously forced to stop their actions.
07:36Some decisions made by the interim governments
08:06since it assumed power have also raised concerns.
08:10Among them is the revocation of a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, a move
08:17that reverses a policy introduced in the final days of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's
08:22government.
08:23However, the interim government claims it is taking steps to protect women, including
08:27the footballers.
08:29The Ministry of Women says it won't let groups organize oppressive acts.
08:33We will not let that happen.
08:36We have increased our vigilance and the Women's Ministry has taken a decision that it will
08:43try and intercept every such act.
08:47We are collaborating with the Ministry of Home and we will continue to do a very close collaboration.
08:56We also plan to mobilize a huge community engagement at the grassroot level.
09:03Back on the field, the young footballers are determined not to quit.
09:09But their fear is palpable.
09:11Across the country, more girls are taking up football, driven by its growing popularity, especially
09:31after the national women's team clinched back-to-back South Asia football championships in recent years.
09:38While women elsewhere in Bangladesh fight for reform, these players are asking for something
