Bangladesh: Women-only beach scrapped after social media outcry
Source: BBC
Bangladesh: Women-only beach scrapped after social media outcry
31 December 2021
Authorities in Bangladesh have reversed their decision to open a women-only beach after facing accusations they were pandering to hardline Islamists.
On Thursday officials had opened a 150m (492ft) section of Cox's Bazar for women and children, but hours later announced they were scrapping the idea.
The decision to segregate the beach was made following requests from some women, officials had said.
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The move to section off the beach also came after news of a gang rape of a woman in Cox's Bazar last week shocked the country, sparking an outcry over women's safety in the area.
But the decision triggered an uproar on social media. Critics accused the government of acquiescing to hardline Islamists, who have recently held massive rallies demanding gender segregation in workplaces and factories.
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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59824915
A sign saying the beach was reserved for women and children was erected along one stretch on Cox's Bazar, before the decision was quickly reversed (Getty Images)
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56,977 square miles (almost exactly the size of Michigan) and 158,570,535 people. That's half the population of the entire USA. Yet their most pressing problem - according to hardline Islamists - seems to be "gender segregation in workplaces and factories." What a world. 
