Asia Cup 2023: Tanzim Hasan Sakib performed well against India.© AFP
A Bangladesh cricketer has apologized for social media posts condemning working women but denied he is a misogynist because “his mother is a woman”, the country’s cricket governing body said on Tuesday. Tanzim Hasan Sakib took the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma with just his fourth international delivery when the neighbors met in the Asia Cup last week before helping secure victory for Bangladesh. But the resulting admiration for the 20-year-old turned to contempt from women’s rights activists and feminists after his misogynistic social media posts came to light.
“He said he was sorry,” Bangladesh Cricket Board cricket chief Jalal Yunus told reporters in Dhaka.
He added that Tanzim had been warned not to make similar posts on social media in the future, but also said the bowler insisted he was “not misogynistic”. “He said he is not against women because his mother is a woman,” Jalal said.
One of Tanzim Sakib’s under-the-radar posts. pic.twitter.com/c58cZtCSLm
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 18, 2023
Tanzim’s posts, which date back to last year, criticized women joining the workforce and those mixing with “male friends at a university.”
“When the woman works, her elegance is damaged,” Tanzim wrote in a Facebook post. “If the woman works, the family is ruined. If the woman works, the veil is ruined. If the woman works, society is ruined.”
Women make up the vast majority of the workforce in garment factories that have driven much of Bangladesh’s economic growth in recent years. But conservative patriarchal attitudes remain widespread in the predominantly Muslim country. The comments sparked a backlash, with Paris-based feminist writer Jannatun Nayeem Prity pointing out that the Bangladesh team jerseys were made in factories staffed mainly by women.
“I feel sorry for you for not seeing your mother as a normal person,” 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.
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