Under Siege: How Cultural, Political, and Religious Forces Threaten Gender Rights in Bangladesh | GenderIT.org

Parsa Sanjana Sajid is a writer and researcher with interests in social spaces and movements, gender justice, migration practices, and digital, visual and literary cultures. Illustration by Ibrahim Kizza for GenderIT In April 2024, a Bangladeshi TV series Rupantor (Bangla for “transition” or “transformation”) was banned after repeated backlash and boycott campaigns for allegedly promoting an LGBTQIA+ agenda. The drama centres around a character who experiences alienation and isolation, and withdraws from social life due to a “hormonal imbalance”, which the doctor diagnoses as mentally transitioning into a woman while remaining within the body of a man. The character’s physical and emotional turmoil and inclinations led to viewer accusations of advocating for a “transgender ideology” and LGBTQIA+ rights. The online backlash eventually compelled the production company to remove the drama from its YouTube channel which the director alleged was forced by the corporate sponsor who were faci

Parsa Sanjana Sajid is a writer and researcher with interests in social spaces and movements, gender justice, migration practices, and digital, visual and literary cultures. Illustration by Ibrahim Kizza for GenderIT In April 2024, a Bangladeshi TV series Rupantor (Bangla for “transition” or “transformation”) was banned after repeated backlash and boycott campaigns for allegedly promoting an LGBTQIA+ agenda. The drama centres around a character who experiences alienation and isolation, and withdraws from social life due to a “hormonal imbalance”, which the doctor diagnoses as mentally transiti