The former Bangladesh captain made many revelations. (Photo-Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)
Sexual Harassment: There is a stir in Bangladesh women’s cricket at the moment. The former captain of the women’s team has made a sensational allegation against the former chief selector. The former captain has revealed this during an interview. During this, he also explained in detail about the long standing problems within the Bangladesh women’s cricket setup. This involves rampant discrimination, neglect and troubling internal politics.
What did the former captain allege?
Bangladesh women’s cricket team Former fast bowler Jahanara Alam has made serious allegations of sexual harassment against former chief selector and team manager Manzoorul Islam. He made these allegations during an interview with sports journalist Riyasad Azim. She told that Manzoorul Islam repeatedly abused her physically and verbally without her consent. According to reports, this also included such cases when he placed his hand on her shoulder without permission and talked about many such personal things, which made her feel uncomfortable.
used to hug intentionally
In an interview given on November 6, Jahanara Alam told that he used to put his hand on my shoulder and ask how many days does my period last? Then he said to me, ‘When this is over, come and meet me’. The former captain further said that Manzoorul Islam deliberately ignored the standard post match protocol after international matches, including the matches played during the World Cup.
He claimed that instead of following the accepted rules of shaking hands, former selectors and managers would specifically come to him to hug him. Jahanara insisted that this behavior happened despite the presence of his teammates and other officials.
I got wrong offers many times
Jahanara Alam said that she repeatedly informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) about this abuse, yet she claims that no effective action was taken. She told that she raised her concerns directly with Nadel Hussain Siraj, who was in charge of the BCB women’s wing at that time. Despite her efforts to formally bring the misconduct to the attention of the authorities, the alleged harassment and discrimination continued.
The former bowler told that I had to face dirty proposals many times. Of course, when we are associated with a team, we cannot speak openly about many things, even if we want to. In the year 2021, Tauheed Bhai contacted me through Babu Bhai (Coordinator Sarfaraz Babu). I have said this in many places. Why he treated me badly, I don’t know. I tried hard to suppress it and play cricket well, but from the very next day Manju Bhai started misbehaving with me, belittling me and insulting me.
No action was taken despite complaint
The former Bangladesh captain said that Tauhid Bhai never contacted me directly. They used Babu Bhai to contact me. After one and a half years, when I gave my letter to the CEO, I called it ‘observation letter’, not ‘complaint letter’. I told everything from A to Z about the incidents that happened in the letter written to the CEO. Babu Bhai told me to take care of Tauheed sir, so I said, ‘Why do I have to take care of him? I am sharing this so that if any girl faces such things later, she can also deal with it in a similar way. This is how Manju Bhai’s bad behavior started.
Manju Bhai used to place his hand on the shoulder wrongly.
Jahanara Alam Further told that I got a second proposal from Manju Bhai during the 2022 World Cup. I felt that BCB should be informed about the incidents that happened to me in the last one and a half years. I told the whole thing to BCB chief Nadel sir many times in different ways. He used to give a temporary solution and Manju Bhai remained fine for one or two days and later the same thing again. After this, he (Manju) came to me.
I went to New Zealand for the World Cup. We were supposed to have a pre-camp, and the session was on the fifth or sixth day, I don’t remember the exact time. On the fifth or sixth day, I was bowling in the nets. He came to me. He has a habit of holding any girl’s shoulder, so he held my shoulder. He told that Manju Bhai used to hold us close to his chest, hold us tightly and bring his mouth near our ears. He is very tall. He used to talk leaning close to our ear and sometimes whenever there was something happy or sad, he used to hold our head and hug it to his chest.
Jahanara Alam has played 135 matches
Jahanara Alam, who last played for the national team in 2023, explained in detail about her important role in the development of the Bangladesh team. Jahanara Alam played 135 international matches for her country in all three formats, ODI, T20I and Test, and she was an important player of the team in its initial years on the global stage.