Event Summary
On 18 January 2026, the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) terminated contracts of Assistant Professor Layeqa Bashir and Associate Professor ASM Mohsin (Head of the Department of Basic Sciences and Humanities) following student protests alleging that Bashir made “anti-hijab and anti-niqab” remarks and that Mohsin supported her. The university stated the decision was taken “in view of the prevailing situation resulting from student protests.”
The controversy was linked to a Facebook post by Bashir on 10 December 2025, reportedly shared under “friends only,” referencing a widely discussed double murder case and raising concerns about identity verification and public safety in contexts where faces are covered. After the post circulated, current and former students held protests, press conferences, and sit-in demonstrations on campus. UAP officials also reportedly pressed for her resignation, formed an inquiry process, and later suspended academic activities indefinitely amid unrest. In response to the unrest, UAP subsequently announced the indefinite suspension of all academic activities, citing security concerns.
The University Teachers’ Network condemned the terminations as a dangerous precedent for academic freedom and warned against institutional capitulation to pressure-driven demands.
Following the terminations on 18 January, protests escalated further. On 20 January 2026, a section of students launched a new demonstration pressing 15 demands, including the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Kamrul Ahsan, and continued occupying the campus even after the university’s closure.
Taken together, the dismissals, campus shutdown, and subsequent escalation of student demands highlight a growing pattern in which allegations framed around religious or ideological sensitivities result in punitive action against educators, raising serious concerns about freedom of expression, due process, and the independence of academic institutions in Bangladesh.