Statue of Woman Removed From Bangladesh’s Supreme Court
By JULFIKAR ALI MANIK and ELLEN BARRYMAY 26, 2017
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Under pressure from Islamic hard-liners, the Bangladeshi authorities in the predawn hours on Friday swiftly
and quietly removed a sculpture of a woman personifying justice from outside the country’s Supreme Court building.
"If anyone wants to build any statue outside a temple in the future, the Muslims of Bangladesh will prevent it." Hefazat burst into the public consciousness in 2013, staging mass marches
and sit-ins that paralyzed Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital.
The decision is a substantial victory for Hefazat,
and within hours of the statue’s removal its leaders issued a broader call for statues all over the country to be destroyed or removed from public view.
Last month, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, signaled
that she supported the statue’s removal, describing it as a depiction of Themis, the Greek goddess, who is traditionally seen blindfolded and carrying scales and a sword.
The left-leaning Workers’ Party, a coalition partner with the governing Awami League, issued a statement calling the decision
"a shameless surrender to fundamentalists." Julfikar Ali Manik reported from Dhaka, and Ellen Barry from New Delhi.
