Bangladesh professor fired for spreading misinformation about trans people

Bangladesh professor fired for spreading misinformation about trans people

Recently, a major LGBTQ rights consortium in Bangladesh supported a decision made by a university to dismiss a faculty member. The individual in question, Asif Mahtab Utsho, formerly worked as an adjunct at BRAC University in Dhaka. He faced accusations of spreading false information about the third-gender community and urging his followers to vandalize an educational publication for young students.

This textbook, which is part of the curriculum for 12 and 13-year-olds, sparked controversy following Utsho’s comments at a seminar. The National Teacher Forum, a Dhaka-based organization with Islamic inclinations, hosted the seminar on January 19. The disputed section in the textbook, titled ‘The Story of Sharifa,’ aimed to showcase human diversity. However, it angered some parents after the book’s distribution.

In a controversial move, Mahtab encouraged his followers to buy the textbook, remove pages on transgender topics, and resell the book as a form of protest.