As protests continue in Bangladesh, a video of a woman delivering an emotional speech is circulating with claims that she is a Bangladeshi Hindu forced to convert her religion or leave the country. This article will fact-check the authenticity of these claims.
Claim: Video showing a Hindu woman asserting that Hindus in Bangladesh are being forced to convert or vacate the country.
Fact: The woman in the video is Azmeri Haque Badhon, a well-known Bangladeshi actress who has been actively supporting the student protests against the government. Her video expressing solidarity with the protesters has been misrepresented with a communal twist. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Bangladesh has witnessed deadly protests that began in July 2024 as an anti-quota movement. Recently, these mass protests have evolved into a major anti-government uprising. The situation escalated when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Reports indicate that mobs have attacked the homes and businesses of minorities, particularly Hindus, looting their valuables (here). There are also reports of Hindu homes and temples being vandalized and set on fire (here).
Although there have been reports of Hindus being targeted, the viral video in question does not depict a Hindu woman complaining about religious persecution in Bangladesh. The woman in the video is seen as saying (English translation), ‘This is our country, and we are the ones who will fix it.’ This implies that she is not specifically addressing Hindu persecution, as the viral post claims.
Additionally, using reverse image search on the viral video screenshots led us to news articles featuring similar visuals of the same woman, wearing the same attire and addressing a crowd. According to these reports, the woman in the video is popular Bangladeshi actress Azmeri Haque Badhon, a practising Muslim, who has been actively involved in student protests against quota reservations.
Additionally, the reports indicate that artists from various fields gathered at the Farmgate intersection in Dhaka to show solidarity with the protesting students (here, here & here). They called for justice for students killed during the quota reform protests, an end to mass arrests, and the cessation of legal actions against the protesters.
Reports state that Azmeri Haque Badhon expressed concern, saying, ‘It could have been my daughter at the protest, and she could have lost her life. A government that kills its people to maintain power is not a democracy. The government must take responsibility for this.’
The banners displayed also shared similar messages against human rights violations, arrests, and student protests. None of these reports mentioned Badhon or any other speaker discussing the targeting of Hindus. Additionally, Badhon has been actively sharing her opinions about current events in Bangladesh on her social media, but none of her posts mention targeting Hindus (here & here). Therefore, all these findings indicate that Badhon’s remarks are being misrepresented from a communal angle.
To summarize, a video of a Bangladeshi actress showing support for the student protests has been shared with a misleading communal twist.
