In a country with 328 unreported rape cases in the year of 2016 alone, feminism comes into the popular discourse only through the hot gossip surrounding a beauty pageant contestant.
In a country where marital rape is not even recognized as violence, feminism comes into play to debate whether having been married makes one ineligible to be Ms. Bangladesh.
The irony in the ‘noya’ feminists’ choice to participate in a debate regarding the rules and regulations of a patriarchal commodification of the female body rather than resisting the practice as a whole is hardly escapable.
The discourse that has followed this Ms. Bangladesh shenanigan proves that this noveau feminism can only follow the lead of the cultural hegemons. It can only create a fuss about things that serve the interests of the media elites by assisting them in exploiting an unimportant bit of news for easy ratings. This brand of feminism cannot change or even resist the blatantly patriarchal culture, nor does it want to. The goal that it is working towards is exactly the same as the goal of the patriarchs: exploiting the female body to achieve cultural dominance.
It can only contest ideas within the parameters of the urban patriarchal elite. It can only defend the female body that needs little defense. It can only speak for a woman who is capable of speaking for herself. It is only a free public relations agency for the female who has found her dominant intersectionality in the urban elite. It is a megaphone, and not a voice.
I am not against megaphones. Megaphones have their own place. But megaphones get destructive when they cover up the voices of the underclass.