Allegations of sexual harassment in Bangladesh women’s cricket team:Ex-selector questions Jahanara Alam about her periods; board forms investigation committee

Bangladesh women’s cricketer Jahanara Alam has made serious allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against former selector Manjurul Islam and other officials in a video. Jahanara said that she had also complained about this to the board’s CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury and former director Shafiul Islam Nadel. Alam stated that during the 2022 World Cup, Manjurul Islam’s behaviour became even worse. Manju Bhai tried to get excessively close to female players and asked inappropriate questions. Once, he asked me about my periods and made a personal comment. Jahanara spoke on the YouTube channel The Riyasat Azim “I have faced such inappropriate things not once or twice, but many times. When you are associated with a team, you cannot speak openly because it is related to your livelihood. When you make a name in a field, you cannot protest every single thing even if you want to.” She further said- “Cricket is my family and I will speak up so that 10 more girls like me are safe. I want future girls to be able to play cricket in a safe environment.” Obscene proposal was also made in 2021 Jahanara is currently living in Australia, taking a break from cricket due to mental health reasons. She said- In 2021, Tauhid Mahmud made an obscene proposal to her through Board Coordinator Sarfaraz Babu. I don’t know why he behaved like that with me. “I tried very hard to suppress everything and focus only on cricket, but when I tried to reject his proposal, Manjurul Islam started misbehaving with me. From the very next day, he started humiliating me.” ‘You take care of Touhid Sir’ “Touhid Bhai never spoke to me directly, always through Babu Bhai. About a year and a half later, I gave a letter to the CEO of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. I called it an observation letter, not a complaint letter, in which I wrote all the incidents from A to Z,” Jahanara said. In response, Babu Bhai told me to take care of Touhid Sir. I said, ‘What does it mean to take care of him? He is a senior official, why should I take care of him?’ I gave such an answer so that the conversation wouldn’t escalate and I could pretend not to understand. But after that, Manjurul Bhai’s attitude towards me worsened even further. Approached for the second time during the 2022 World Cup Jahanara said that during the 2022 World Cup, Manjurul Bhai gave me a second proposal. Then I thought that now I should inform the board about this. I told Nadel Sir many times, but he only gave temporary solutions. For a day or two, Manjurul Bhai would be fine, then it would be the same again. ‘Now he will come and hug me’ Jahanara said, during the World Cup, we were in New Zealand and Manjurul came to me during practice. He often talked to girls with his hand on their shoulder. He would hug them. He would rub their heads. And sometimes he would come very close and whisper in their ear. We all were scared of this and even used to say jokingly, “Look, now he will come and hug us.” During practice, he put his hand on my shoulder, held my hand, and then came close to my head and asked – “How many days has your period been going on?” He asked this question because he already had the information, as doctors have our complete cycle records. Then he said, “Five days, how can someone last that long? Let me know when it’s over, I also have to take care of my side.” I said, “Brother, I don’t understand.” So he said, “There’s no need to understand, just let me know when it’s over.” I was stunned to hear his words. At that moment, I didn’t know what to say.” All allegations against me are baseless Former selector Manjurul Islam has called all allegations baseless. He said, “The allegations made against me are false. You can ask other players if I ever behaved inappropriately or not.” Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Babu said that she is dragging the name of a deceased person (Tauhid), which is unfortunate. He added that she should provide evidence to prove the allegations. Investigation Committee is to submit report in 15 days The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) issued a statement saying- The board is taking these allegations seriously and an investigation committee has been formed to look into the matter. The committee will submit its report within 15 working days. BCB is committed to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all players.