A Bangladeshi actress,preferred to remain anonymous
During last year’s Ramadan I went with my boyfriend to Dhaka College. It was the 1st time I was showing him around my country. I was crossing the road when some guys threw stones at me. I looked back and reacted saying “Ki hoise? (What’s wrong?)” Yes, that’s all I said and they started gathering around me. My boyfriend took me away from them, as they were shouting and suggesting that my attire was not appropriate for Bangladesh. I was wearing a long kameez with short salwar which offended them, I guess. But, my boyfriend was in shorts just next to me and it didn’t bother them!
Then, they followed me to the nearby market. This time with sticks and rods. They started questioning me. How dare I asked them “What’s wrong?”. They said, my tone was not appropriate. My boyfriend apologized to them and only then they left me warning “this is not western country but Bangladesh.” They asked shopkeepers not to sell anything to me and the rickshaw pullers were asked not to take me home.