Video shows Bangladesh student protest, not 'abuse of Hindu women' after PM ouster

"Hindu Women in Bangladesh! They are being Raped and Killed! Hindus are staring at a Genocide in Bangladesh. These images and videos make you feel so helpless!" read a post on social media platform X. 

The post contained a video that shows a woman seated on a footpath, her hands and feet bound and her mouth covered with tape.

It has garnered more than two million views since it was published on August 7, 2024.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on August 13, 2024

The false claim surfaced as a student-led uprising in Bangladesh against government hiring rules culminated in Hasina fleeing the country. At least 450 people were killed in the clashes. 

Hindus are the largest minority faith in Bangladesh and are considered a steadfast support base for Hasina's party, the Awami League.

After her abrupt resignation, numerous Hindu families came into the crosshairs of their neighbours.

Over the past week, religious rights groups said they documented more than 200 incidents of attacks on minority communities, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists.

The clip of the bound woman was shared alongside other claims elsewhere on Facebook here, as well as on X here.

However, the video in fact shows a student protest at Jagannath University in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka in March 2024 and predates the deadly clashes.

Student protest video

A reverse image search on Google found the same video shared on a Facebook page JnU Short Stories on July 26, 2024 (archived link).

Part of the Bengali-language caption identified the woman as "a general student of Jagannath University 2021-22 academic year" and said she was participating in a demonstration.

Around 22 seconds into the video, a Bengali-language text which reads "Jagannath University" can be seen written on a bus in the background. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false post (left) and the clip shared by the Facebook page (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false post (left) and the clip shared by the Facebook page (right)

Bangladeshi media reported in March 2024 that students from Jagannath University staged protests demanding justice for their fellow student, Abantika, who died by suicide after allegedly facing sexual harassment on campus (archived link).

Local outlet Channel 24 also published a video on the protest, where a woman wearing the same clothes and glasses can be seen at the 1:22 mark (archived link).

Mohammad Sohag Rasif, a reporter who covered the protests for the local paper Bangladesh Bulletin, also confirmed to AFP the clip showed "part of a street theatre protest" in support of Abantika.

AFP has also debunked other false claims related to the Bangladesh unrest here, here and here.

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