Authorities in Bangladesh’s main tourist destination have ended a beach section dedicated to women and children, following an uproar on social media over gender discrimination. Officials gave this information on Thursday.
On Wednesday afternoon, Cox’s Bazar officials inaugurated a section of shoreline on the world’s longest natural beach as an exclusive area for women and children.
But hours later, the administration issued a press release saying it had “withdrawn its decision” after “negative comments”.
Abu Sufyan, a senior Cox’s Bazar official, told AFP that the section was created following a request from conservative women in the Muslim-majority country.
“They requested a dedicated beach section for themselves, as they felt shy and insecure in crowded places,” he said.
The gang-rape of a woman in Cox’s Bazar earlier this month created a ruckus over women’s safety in the city.
But the move to close a section of the beach has sparked an uproar on social media, with critics saying it was vexing for hardline Islamists, who still hold considerable influence in the country.
“This is Talebistan,” veteran journalist and commentator Syed Ishtiaq Reza wrote on Facebook, referring to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Another commentator compared it to “Mollahtantra”, which translates as radical Islamic ideology.
Parts of Bangladesh society are very conservative, and in recent years, a radical Islamist group has held mass rallies demanding the separation of the sexes in workplaces and factories.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit Cox’s Bazar during festivals, and the tourism sector has boomed in recent years.
To provide security to the growing number of tourists, the authorities have set up a tourism police unit to patrol the beach towns.
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