Asha Roy, 17, was excited to take part in a women's football tournament, but her hopes were dashed as Islamists forced the organizers to cancel the match in northern Bangladesh. Shortly before the game began earlier this month, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh group announced a protest rally against the event in Rangpur region, saying it was un-Islamic. Fearing trouble, local police stepped in and the women's team members were asked to return to their home for their safety. "I was frustrated and frightened. We had never faced such a situation before. It was disappointing that we came back without playing," Ms Roy told the BBC. Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, is currently undergoing a political transition after widespread protests ousted its authoritarian government last year. An interim administration is currently in charge but there are concerns that hardline groups, which had been pushed to the fringes, have become emboldened again. The women's football match was the third to be canceled in northern Bangladesh in less than two weeks due to the objections of religious hardliners. In the Dinajpur area, roughly 70km (43 miles) west of Rangpur, hardliners protesting against a game clashed with locals who supported it, leaving four people injured. For girls such as Asha Roy, who come from rural areas, football and other sports are a source of female empowerment and a way out of poverty. Those who shine can be selected to play for sponsored teams and some go on to represent Bangladesh internationally. Many girls have been inspired to take up football thanks to the success of the national women's team, who are considered heroes after winning two consecutive South Asia Football Championships in recent years. Ms Roy's teammate, Musammat Tara Moni, said she would not stop playing despite the threats. "It's my dream to represent our national team. My family supports me, so I am not losing hope," the 16-year-old said. For their coach Nurul Islam, the objections came as a surprise. "I have taken the team to many tournaments for the past seven years, but it's the first time we have faced a situation like this," he said. The hardliners insist that the match they stopped was against their religious values and say that they are determined to prevent any future football games. "If women want to play football, they should cover their entire body, and they can play only in front of female spectators. Men cannot watch them play," Maulana Ashraf Ali, the leader of the Islami Andolan Bangladesh in the Taraganj area of Rangpur, told the BBC. The cancellation of the women's football matches caused an uproar on social media, leading the authorities to reorganize one of them. They have also launched an investigation into the incidents but say the fear of radicalism is exaggerated. "There is no truth in the allegations that the government is pandering to Islamists," Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to interim leader Muhammad Yunus, told the BBC. Alam pointed out that hundreds of women's sports matches were held as part of a national youth festival in January, and that they were played across the country without any trouble. Some people are not reassured. Samina Luthfa, assistant professor of sociology in the University of Dhaka, told the BBC the cancellation of the women's football matches was "definitely alarming". "The women of Bangladesh will not stop playing football and will not stop from going to work or doing their things," she said, adding that "everyone will fight" efforts to remove women from public spaces. Other decisions made by the interim government since it assumed power in August have also raised concerns. They include revoking a ban on the country's largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which was introduced in the last days of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's government. Jashimuddin Rahmani, the leader of the banned militant group Ansarullah Bangladesh (ABT) — now known as Ansar al Islam — was released in August after a court granted him bail. He was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the killing of a secular blogger in 2013, but had been kept behind bars because of other pending cases. According to local media reports, several other people accused of having links with extremist groups have also been given bail in the past few months. "Though security forces say they will monitor those released, it will be difficult for them to put everybody under surveillance given the limitations," says Dr Tawohidul Haque, a crime analyst from the University of Dhaka. While most Bangladeshis are moderate and secular values dominate society, extremism is not a new phenomenon in the country. A decade ago, religious zealots targeted secular bloggers, atheists, minorities, foreigners and others in a spate of attacks — killing dozens and sending others fleeing abroad. In one such incident, a group of Islamist gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, killing 20 people. It is not just women's football games that have been targeted recently either. Last week, dozens of Muslim students vandalized a book stall at Dhaka's famous Ekushey Book Fair. The protesters were angry over the display of a book by the exiled feminist author Taslima Nasrin, who has in the past received death threats from Islamist groups for what they say are her blasphemous writings. Muhammad Yunus condemned the incident saying the attack "shows contempt for both the rights of Bangladeshi citizens and for the laws of our country." The police are investigating. Meanwhile, one of the country's best-known actors, Pori Moni said she was stopped from inaugurating a department store in the northern town of Tangail after reported objections from religious groups. "Now I'm really feeling helpless, as well as insecure. It's part of my job to take part in opening a showroom or a similar event. No one has stopped me all these years," Ms Moni told the BBC Bengali service. Similar events involving two other actors, Apu Biswas and Mehazabien Chowdhury, have also been canceled following threats. Minority groups like the Sufi Muslims say they are also witnessing increasing attacks on their places of worship. "About a hundred of our shrines [mazars] and centers have been attacked in the past six months," Anisur Rahman Jafri, Secretary General of the Sufism Universal Foundation, told the BBC. "We have not seen this kind of sudden extremist attack on us since the country's independence in 1971," he added, warning that the country was at risk of "Talibanization" if the situation continued. Police said 40 shrines were damaged and that they had stepped up security around religious sites. The authorities have also been struggling to maintain law and order in the wake of Sheikh Hasina's departure. Earlier this month, thousands of protesters vandalized homes and buildings connected to Hasina and senior leaders of her Awami League party. People from other groups and parties, including Islamists, joined in other demonstrations in the capital, Dhaka, and across the country. The authorities have defended the security forces for not intervening, saying doing so would have cost lives. Rights groups have expressed concern over the security situation. "If the government fails to act, then Islamists are going to feel emboldened. There will be more self-censorship for women and girls, they will be more intimidated participating in public events," Shireen Huq, a prominent women's rights activist, told the BBC. "I am still optimistic that this phenomenon will not sustain," she added. — BBC
