The crisis of patriarchy in Bangladesh is nothing new, but recent incidents reveal how terrifyingly deep-rooted it has become. A man harassed two women simply because they were smoking. Another man questioned a female student at Dhaka University about her attire and hijab. In both cases, men used religion as a weapon to legitimize their prejudices, sexually driven mindset, and controlling nature.
Most men in Bangladesh still believe they have the right to comment on a woman's body, clothing, and mobility. Why? Because society teaches them that women are subordinate, that they should be governed, and that their movement should be dictated. A woman's autonomy—whether in her attire, movement, or even smoking—threatens this patriarchal psychology.
But this issue goes beyond mere patriarchal dogma; at its core lies a male-centric, lower-body-oriented mentality. Whenever a woman moves freely, a man subconsciously fears losing control over her. A woman’s personal freedom becomes a threat to a man's biological dominance.
This is why, when a woman smokes in public, it becomes an inexplicable sexual signal to many men. And since society does not approve of female sexual autonomy, men suppress their desires by blaming women instead. They seek to control women in the name of religion, but in reality, this is merely an expression of their inability to control their own sexual urges.
Freudian Analysis -The Root of Male Sexual Anxiety and Religious Justification:
What does Freud’s psychoanalytic theory say about this crisis of male sexuality and the refuge in religion? Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, argued that human thoughts and behaviors are primarily driven by sexual instincts or libido. If this drive is not socially regulated, it manifests in perverse ways. In Bangladesh's patriarchal system, religious misinterpretation serves as a tool to justify such perversions.
When a woman smokes freely, men perceive it as her asserting control over her own body—a "threat" to their dominance. When a woman dresses as she pleases, they feel she is not available for their desires but instead possesses her own consciousness. Freud suggested that repressed sexual desires often lead to aggression. These men mask their impotence, repression, and sexual frustration by using religion as a shield. To hide their desires and failures, they attack women’s clothing, conduct, independence, and individuality.
Freud’s Structural Model and the Male Psyche:
Freud, in his book The Ego and the Id, described the human psyche in three layers:
• Id (Instinct & Desire) – The primal stage where individuals act purely on biological impulses.
• Ego (Reality & Reasoning) – The rational stage where decisions are made based on reality.
• Superego (Morality & Social Norms) – The moral stage that internalizes values and ethics.
Bangladeshi patriarchal men remain stuck in the Id stage, where they see women only as objects of desire. They lack a developed Superego, meaning they do not refine their moral consciousness. Instead, they attempt to validate their suppressed sexual urges by disguising them under religious rhetoric.
Freud also introduced the concept of sexual regression, which suggests that if an individual fails to develop a healthy relationship with their sexuality, they either turn towards criminal or perverse behaviors. In the case of these men, we see exactly that—they either resort to violence against women or attempt to control them through religious dogma.
Religious Control as a Mask for Sexual Insecurity:
These men are not motivated by genuine religious values; rather, they seek to regulate their own sexual urges. Their real problem is not religious devotion but their own repressed sexual anxieties. They question women's attire but never discuss men's clothing. They object to women smoking but remain silent about men doing the same.
This is a clear double standard, which Freud would describe as projection—the tendency to deny one’s own impulses and instead blame others. These men refuse to acknowledge their own sexual desires and frustrations, so they scapegoat women instead.
Breaking Free from the Chains of Lower-Body Slavery:
It is evident that Bangladeshi patriarchy is trapped in slavery of the lower body. To break free from this psychological prison, we must first acknowledge that our society is held hostage by sexually repressed men who seek to impose their shackles on women.
For these men, weaponizing religion to suppress women is convenient because it shifts the responsibility of their own desires onto women. But if we continue to ignore this reality—if we choose to stay silent out of shame—this mental enslavement will persist indefinitely.
Therefore, we must ask ourselves: Do we want a society governed by intellectual strength, or do we want to remain trapped in lower-body slavery, justifying our lust in the name of religion?
If Bangladeshi men truly aspire to evolve, they must engage their minds. They must see women not as objects of control but as humans. They must stop using religion as a shield for sexual insecurity. They must learn to control their own desires rather than attempting to control women. Otherwise, they will remain lifelong slaves to their lower bodies.
References:
• Freud, Sigmund – Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905)
• Freud, Sigmund – The Ego and the Id (1923)
• Judith Butler – Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
• Klaus Theweleit – Male Fantasies
Author: Journalist
March 6, 2025