Video of women assaulted over theft allegation circulated with false communal claims
A video circulating on X has been shared with the claim that an imam at a mosque in Bangladesh was mistreating non-Muslim women. Another account shared the same video, claiming it showed women in Bangladesh being forced to shave their heads to prevent them from causing “sexual temptation.” However, a fact-check found that the video actually shows an incident in Rupganj Upazila of Narayanganj district, where three women were tied up and beaten over allegations of theft. Reports on the incident indicate that none of the women were non-Muslims.
At 6 a.m. Bangladesh time on June 3, an X account named Middle East 24 shared a 17-second video showing a man wearing a cap and panjabi forcibly cutting a woman’s hair. The post carried the caption: “Girls Forced to Shave Their Heads in Bangladesh Over ‘Sexual Temptation’ Fears!” A review of the account’s profile shows that it identifies itself as a media outlet and lists Poland as its location.
One hour and 45 minutes later, the same video was shared by an X account named Mossad Commentary with a nearly identical caption. A review of the account’s profile shows that it is based in Israel. At the time of writing, the post had been shared 517 times and the video had received more than 78,000 views. The post also drew comments that appeared to accept the claim as genuine. One user wrote, “So sad… wake up call for India…. if they come to power…. no freedom for our children.” Another commented, “These Muslim men have no shame or control and sadly this culture is being imported into the UK.”
The same video was also shared by an X account named Faraz Parvaiz, which lists Thailand as its location. The post carried the caption: “HORRIBLE. In Bangladesh, a Muslim imam from a mosque is mistreating non-Muslim women, treating them worse than animals on the streets. This is real Islam.” According to the account profile, its owner is Pakistani and says he has been accused of blasphemy for believing in Jesus Christ. At the time of writing, the post had been shared more than 8,000 times and viewed more than 200,000 times.
The post also drew comments that appeared to accept the claim as genuine. One user wrote: “It’s time for non-Muslim communities to unite and stop this Islamic barbarism. Create small groups of resistance and defend yourself from these Muslim savages.” Another commented: “This is what we’ve imported! Well done, the suicidal empathy of the British government.”
Using keyframes extracted from the video, Dismislab conducted a reverse image search that led to reports published by multiple Bangladeshi news outlets (1, 2). The individuals and clothing visible in photographs accompanying those reports match the scenes in the circulated video. According to reports published on March 2 and 3, three women were tied up, assaulted and had their hair cut after being accused of stealing a gold chain. The incident took place on March 2 in Rupganj Upazila of Narayanganj district. The reports identified the three women as Sumaiya Akter (32), Eti Akter (28), and Sharmin Akter (30).
A search using relevant keywords also led to multiple videos (1, 2, 3) and news reports (1, 2, 3, 4) about the incident. Those reports identified the man seen cutting a woman’s hair in the viral video as Selim Mia. According to the reports, the three women were detained at the home of Selim Mia, a resident of Dohargaon village in Golakandail Union of Rupganj Upazila, after being accused of stealing a gold chain. Selim Mia, members of his family and several local residents then cut the women’s hair and physically assaulted them.
Police later arrested Selim Mia, who was accused of cutting the women’s hair, as well as the three women accused of theft. The arrests were made in connection with two separate cases filed at Rupganj Police Station.
Therefore, a three-month-old video showing the abuse of women accused of theft is being circulated with a communal narrative by X accounts operated from various countries.
