The ugliness over Beauty’s reel

For someone who has been viciously trolled for an innocuous reel, Beauty Rani Pal, a headteacher of a primary school in Sylhet, has shown remarkable resilience. Recently, a video of her in a carefree mood roaming around her school against the backdrop of a popular Bangla ‘80’s number sparked virulent misogyny and moral policing. Soon after the reel was uploaded, several Facebook pages emerged to spread the video with vicious remarks. It was branded as “vulgar,” displaying “inappropriate behaviour” on the part of a primary school teacher. There were calls for an investigation into whether she had violated any code of conduct for government teachers. Yet, despite all this, Beauty has shown courage and refuses to be daunted by the onslaught, filing a general diary and naming the Facebook pages responsible for spreading the video to garner comments with the intention of humiliating her.

In an unusual turn of events, the viral video, which was intended to crush her spirit and vilify her, also sparked an unprecedented level of solidarity from teachers of her own school and others around the country, as well as other netizens. Dozens of videos were posted using the same song in a show of support for Beauty and as a protest against cyberbullying. Later, Beauty, in a video message, expressed her gratitude to everyone for standing with her, including the state minister for education, who, when asked to comment on the matter, sharply retorted that there was nothing to discuss or criticise someone for listening to a song on a windy day.

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While this story may seem to have a somewhat “happy ending,” the whole incident underlines the various layers of hate in society towards women. Watching the reel, it is hard to understand what exactly these trolls found so objectionable. Was it because she wore a sari? Was it because she was a teacher and therefore an easy target? Was it because of her name? Or was it simply because she was a woman who looked like she was enjoying the weather and the song that complemented it?

Most likely it was all of the above.

There is very little logic behind the acts of bullies, whether they are in the streets or in cyberspace. Women are the favourite targets because they can always be accused of immodesty, even for enjoying an old romantic song! Even during the 2024 uprising when the whole nation had united for a single cause, women protesters, especially the more vocal ones, were incessantly trolled on social media. The trolling continued when they showed political ambition, and it reached astonishing levels when women candidates were contesting the 2026 elections. Ultra-conservative religious groups who made no qualms about their disdain for women trying to enter the public space resurged in recent times, and weaponised religion to try to push women out. Moral policing became the dominant excuse for harassment and even physical violence.

The new government has shown its disapproval of cyberbullying, especially of women, by announcing that it will form a dedicated cell to fight against cyberbullying and strengthen digital safety. A central mechanism will be created to respond to online harassment, particularly on social media platforms, to provide faster support to victims. It will include a 24-hour hotline, an online reporting portal, and trained response teams to handle cyberbullying complaints.

All this sounds promising, if implemented properly and soon. The data on this issue paints a dismal picture. A 2024 report by the Bureau of Statistics and UNFPA finds 89 percent of women users of social media in Bangladesh experienced online violence at least once, with those aged between 18 and 30 targeted the most. In 2025, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) received 13,023 content removal requests, of whom around 90 percent were from women. Past experience shows that filing cases can prove futile, as conviction rates are less than 3 percent. Which means, for the most part, the accused get acquitted, free to further harass their victims and even threaten them with physical harm. Unsurprisingly, most women don’t report at all, and among those who do, many feel they shouldn’t have bothered.

Once upon a time, nobody would have even known about the charming, young woman who studied English at Sylhet’s Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and had decided to devote her life to teaching children at a small primary school in Fenchuganj. Nobody would know that she made extra efforts to make learning fun for her students through song and dance, earning her the best teacher award in the district in 2026. Least of all, no one would find a video of her walking about the school grounds, with a catchy Bangla song playing in the background, remotely offensive. This is because, back then, there was no social media where detractors could remain anonymous and be as vile as they wanted.

We are in a different era now; technology has brought many of our sci-fi fantasies to life, but without a corresponding advancement in social enlightenment. In fact, quite the opposite has happened over the last few decades, manifested most acutely in recent years. Smartphones, AI, and dozens of social media platforms are accessible to more people than ever. But with it has come a resurgence of narrow and extreme interpretations of scripture that contradict democratic, progressive ideals and emphasise the inferior status of women. For many, misogyny, along with bigotry, is no longer an embarrassment but a badge of honour to be worn proudly, loudly, and even celebratorily. Unfortunately, technology has given the space and reach for such dangerous trends to flourish.

So, sure, we need sophisticated systems and highly trained personnel to catch the misogynistic cyber criminals who have the capacity and desire to create hell for their victims. But how can we instil the fact that respecting women and treating them as equal human beings are components of human advancement that are starkly missing? Until we confront the culture that normalises misogyny in everyday life, we will continue treating the symptoms while leaving the root cause untouched.

Aasha Mehreen Amin is joint editor at The Daily Star.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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