July Seminar on - "The Walls that Remember the July Uprising: Graffiti, Women, and Masculinities in Bangladesh”
The Department of Women and Gender Studies organized a seminar under the Sufia Kamal Lecture Series titled "The Walls that Remember the July Uprising: Graffiti, Women, and Masculinities in Bangladesh” on 27th July 2025 in the Department. Professor Dr. Syed Saikh Imtiaz, Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Dhaka, delivered the key speech, and Dr. Nafisa Tanjeem Nipun, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Worcester State University, United States, was the discussant in this program. The event was chaired by Dr. Sabiha Yeasmin Rosy, Chairperson, Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Dhaka.
In his presentation, Professor Dr. Sayed Saikh Imtiaz explored the visual and gendered dimensions of the historic July 2024 youth uprising in Bangladesh. While the initial wave of protests—sparked by frustrations over authoritarianism, patriarchal violence, and democratic decay—was led by students across the country. The walls of campuses and cities became vibrant canvases of resistance, covered in graffiti that captured the anger, hope, and collective demands of a generation. Dr. Sayed’s talk, titled "The Walls That Remember," offered a critical analysis of these graffiti images through the lens of gender and masculinity. He examined how the portrayals of women—as protesters, schoolgirls, and symbolic figures—challenged patriarchal norms and redefined public resistance. The presentation also unpacked how masculinity was reimagined in these visuals—not as dominance, but as part of an egalitarian, and collective struggle.
The discussant, Dr. Nafisa Tanjeem Nipun, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Worcester State University, USA, discussed the gender dimension of graffiti and politics of erasure, pointing out how gendered notions play a part in deciding what to make visible and what not through graffiti. She clarified how issues that go against social norms—granting rights to sex workers—or call for the state's assistance—pursuing the rights of Indigenous women—rarely appear in graffiti, indicating that the state and masculine norms prefer the liberal interpretation of rights over the radical ideology. She emphasized the significance of looking at women's representation in graffiti not just in terms of content but also in terms of geography and time, alongside if the graffiti carried distinct expressions prior to and following August 5, 2024. Besides, her talk addressed heterogenous women and their specific gender needs, which were sidelined in the quota debates when the students demanded a reformation of the quota, later leading to the July Uprising. Dr. Nafisa emphasized that the rejection of the women’s quota by some female students does not represent all women’s voices and needs, especially those from marginalized communities.
The seminar, taken as a whole, demonstrated how graffiti served not just as political expression but as a transformative medium for envisioning justice, inclusivity, and a new kind of nationhood—one where women's voices and bodies are central to the narrative of change. However, on a future note, it is also important to explore how visual culture can intersect with gender and resistance, as well as how women’s participation and role in any movement can be reconstructed to conform to the traditional gender politics.