'Why is the state helping stop film screenings when it can't stop child rape?' asks Rumeen Farhana
She says a state that fails to prevent child rape, corruption and bank looting should not support efforts to stop cultural activities, as protests grow over the cancellation of screenings of 'Bonolota Express' in Brahmanbaria.
Brahmanbaria-2 lawmaker Rumeen Farhana has questioned why the state would support the suspension of film screenings when it has failed to prevent serious crimes such as child rape and corruption.
She raised the issue at a human chain programme held in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria district today (1 June), protesting the cancellation of screenings of the film 'Bonolota Express'.
The demonstration, organised under the banner of local residents, took place in Shahbazpur village under Shahbazpur union of the upazila. Leaders of various social and cultural organisations, alongside people from different walks of life, joined the programme.
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Earlier, on 30 May, the Brahmanbaria Film Society suspended a screening of 'Bonolota Express' in the district town following objections from students of Qawmi madrasas.
On the same night, police and local administration allegedly halted another screening of the film in Taltala village of Kasba upazila.
Addressing the gathering, Rumeen Farhana described 'Bonolota Express' as a family-friendly film and questioned the rationale behind stopping its screening.
"If I ask why a state that cannot protect a six-year-old child from rape and sexual violence, or stop corruption, money laundering and bank looting, is supporting efforts to shut down a film screening, what would be the answer?" she said.
She said Bangladesh had witnessed attacks on shrines and incidents where bodies were exhumed from graves and burned over the past two years, which she described as signs of growing right-wing extremism.
"But this is not the Bangladesh we grew up in. We heard Quran recitations in the morning and saw children practising songs with harmoniums in the afternoon. Who is trying to turn Bangladesh into a land of fundamentalism?" she asked.
Rumeen Farhana further alleged that while the state had failed to prevent serious crimes, it was now enabling efforts that could restrict cultural activities and push future generations towards intolerance.
District Udichi Shilpigoshthi General Secretary Ferdous Rahman, District Chhatra Maitree President Fahim Muntasir and several others also spoke at the programme.
