By Md Rasel Sarker

DHAKA, July 29, 2025 (BSS) - Female students played a brave and transformative role in the July Uprising. Participation of female students intensified the July movement as the law enforcement agencies faced difficulties to suppress them for their courageous stance.    

One of the key figures who mobilized female students during the uprising was Rupaiya Srestha Tanchangya, a student of Mass Communication and Journalism department at Dhaka University. While participating in the protests, she faced harassment, intimidation and physical assaults.

Srestha hails from Rajasthali upazila in the hill district of Rangamati, though she currently lives with her family in Dhaka's Mohammadpur. Her father, Shakya Mitra Tanchangya, is a businessman, and her mother, Fahamida Rubbaiya Ruma, is a homemaker. She is the eldest of two siblings, and her younger brother studies at Jahangirnagar University.

After completing SSC from Khagrachari Cantonment Public School and College, Srestha passed her HSC from Holy Cross College in Dhaka. Later, she enrolled at Dhaka University under 2019-20 academic session.

She recently completed her undergraduate studies. She is a non-residential student of Ruqayyah Hall and aspires to pursue postgraduate studies abroad.

Srestha was previously a central executive member of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and currently serves as a Joint Convener of the Bangladesh Democratic Students' Council.

In a recent interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Rupaiya Srestha recounted her experience during the July Uprising.

BSS: When and why did you join the quota reform movement?

Rupaiya Srestha: I wasn't involved in the movement from the very beginning, but I supported it from the outset. As a student of ethnic group, I felt it was essential to support the call for reform. The entire quota system had become a farce. After the 2018 movement, the government abolished quotas altogether. 

Then, in 2024, they reinstated it without any meaningful reform. Students called for rational restructuring maintaining quotas for deserving groups like persons with disabilities and students of ethnic group but not blanket quotas.

As the movement against discriminatory quotas gained momentum, I joined on July 12. On July 15, the Chhatra League attacked protesters at Dhaka University. Many of my friends, including Sanjida Ahamed Tanney, were injured. That day shattered our sense of safety on campus. Dhaka University is our second home and to be assaulted there was unbearable. From that moment, I became fully active.

BSS: As a non-residential student of Ruqayyah Hall, how did you participate in the movement?

Rupaiya Srestha: I commuted from Mohammadpur to join the protests. Students from various institutions rallied at key points like Shahbagh, Science Lab and the Dhaka University campus. I met many school and college girls who were incredibly brave. I created WhatsApp groups to help coordinate them.

After the July 15 attacks, the authorities closed the university and halls. Many female students were heading home, but I felt it was crucial for me to remain visible and active. If women disappeared from the frontline, it would send the wrong message that we had fled in fear. 

Our visibility helped deter the Chhatra League from fully suppressing the protests. Since I wasn't living in the hall, I had more freedom to stay active despite the closure and parental fears about safety.

BSS: Where were you during the July 15 Chhatra League attacks at Dhaka University?

Rupaiya Srestha: I was at campus that day. I had gone to New Market for some errands and was returning through Nilkhet when I saw students running in panic. 

I took shelter near the Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall gate but wasn't allowed to enter the main campus. The Chhatra League was parading across campus, trying to dominate the situation. Eventually, I had to go home.

BSS: What challenges did you face commuting from home to join the protests?

Rupaiya Srestha: I faced many difficulties traveling from Mohammadpur to campus during the movement. Students from our campus mainly protested around Raju Sculpture, Shaheed Minar and Shahbagh intersection. At the same time, Dhaka College and other colleges blocked the Science Lab building in protest. Due to this, buses could not move on the usual routes to campus.

The situation worsened toward the end, with a curfew in place and armed Chhatra League members stationed on the streets. Everyone's families were very worried. However, my parents were abroad for medical treatment, so I faced fewer obstacles in joining the movement.

I also kept little information from my family then. My biggest challenge was going to campus alone. There was a lot of chaos near Dhaka College and I was caught in clashes twice. On several occasions, bricks hit me.

BSS: How did you continue protesting after the July 17 campus shutdown and curfew?

Rupaiya Srestha: On the first day of the curfew, I joined the protests at Science Lab. Police opened fire directly on us. Students were hit in the face, head and eyes. I was with three other girls, including Samia from Barishal University. We never imagined police would shoot like that. Seeing blood pour from our classmates' eyes was horrifying.

Just days earlier, Abu Sayed Bhai was shot dead in Rangpur. I thought the government wouldn't dare fire again. But they did. After that, participation became dangerous. Police and Chhatra League harassed any student on the streets. We started carrying chili powder and sticks to defend ourselves if attacked.

BSS: How did you stay connected and mobilize during the internet blackout?

Rupaiya Srestha: Before the shutdown, we used WhatsApp groups to coordinate. We had transport groups for students who used the university shuttle buses and I'd post messages there.

Once the internet went down, we had to rely on phone calls. I called anyone whose number I had. It was extremely hard to step outside. From our home in Mohammadpur, we could smell tear gas in the air.

I later heard that a boy from a nearby building was shot dead. When the internet slowly came back, I rejoined the movement in full force. On the day Asif Nazrul Sir and others gathered near the High Court, I went with my mother to join.

My parents had returned from abroad early out of concern. My father soon went to Rangamati for work. My mother supported me unconditionally. My younger brother, a mathematics student at Jahangirnagar University, had come home after the university closed. He also joined the protests in Mohammadpur, Jigatala and Science Lab.

As internet connectivity improved, our WhatsApp group grew from 56 to almost 300 members, mostly women from Mohammadpur, Lalmatia and nearby areas. We didn't know each other before, it was the movement that brought us together.

BSS: Which moment from the movement left a mark on you that you'll never forget?

Rupaiya Srestha: August 4 was the most terrifying day for me. That morning, we gathered at the Shaheed Minar for the announcement of the one-point demand, the resignation of Sheikh Hasina. We heard rumors of an attack on Shahbagh police station and if it happened, the police might open fire wildly.

To prevent escalation, we stayed near the station. Even then, bricks were thrown at us. We painted graffiti in the streets and many girls participated.

The curfew was set to start at 6 pm. Around that time, gunfire broke out in Banglamotor. I had brought seven girls with me from Mohammadpur. We tried to return, but chaos had erupted. We heard there were arson attacks in Jigatala. 

We walked via Katabon, Hatirpool, and Bhuter Goli to reach Mirpur Road. At Green Road, we saw people bleeding and injured. Around 7 pm, we reached home.

But then I got devastating news, my brother had been missing since 3:30 pm. My mother had called me several times, but my phone was on silent. When I finally called back, she said some men abducted my brother near Jigatala.

They called claiming to be police but wouldn't say from which station. My mother was frantic. I went to Mohammadpur Police Station with two fellow protesters, but they refused to let us in. Then they said they hadn't detained anyone that day. I mentioned that we'd heard councillor's men took him. They directed us to Tejgaon Police Station.

On the way, we saw 50-60 men with machetes standing on the road. Police and other law enforcement agencies were stationed nearby. The police tried to push us away and told us to go home.

As we neared the Shia Mosque, we took shelter under a market shutter. My mother was approaching from the mosque area to join us when Chhatra League members with machetes tried to snatch her phone. I rushed over and they began verbally abusing me and grabbed my phone.

When I protested, they shoved me and my mother to the ground. Two girls with me tried to intervene, but the men surrounded us. They slapped and beat me, broke my glasses and pulled my scarf and hair. We were badly harassed.

I informed Rafiz Bhai, a senior from my department, who helped alert other faculty. One teacher from the DU Teachers' Network came to ensure our safety and offered to take us to Tejgaon Police Station.

But as we were heading there, the security guard at our building said two men had dropped off my brother at the gate. He was bleeding, with torn clothes, bruises on his head and dried bloodstains. 

We later learned he had been tortured at a garage beside the councilor's office. Others were tortured there too. One boy had his skull cracked open with a bat.

After August 5, when the situation stabilized a bit, we filed a case naming councillor Asif and other unidentified individuals. That case is still ongoing. Those memories were traumatic. We were humiliated beyond belief.

BSS: How did you mentally cope with such brutality?

Rupaiya Srestha: I was deeply traumatized. These events haunted me for weeks. Gunfire and smoke outside our home became part of our daily life. 

After August 5, when more robberies and attacks occurred in Mohammadpur, we lived in constant fear. I couldn't sleep. I was in psychological distress.

BSS: What was the role of ethnic students in the quota movement?

Rupaiya Srestha: The coordinators clarified early on that we weren't against all quotas, only against discriminatory ones. Nahid Bhai and others reached out to us and spoke to Alik Mree, president of an ethnic group students' platform.   

We ethnic students joined together. When the halls were closed, many hill students returned home. But those of us who stayed in Dhaka joined the protests. One of our ethnic friends was shot. By then, the movement had grown beyond quotas, it became a larger political battle.

BSS: When did you realize the movement was evolving into uprising for regime change?

Rupaiya Srestha: The quota reform movement transformed into mass uprising after brutal killing of Abu Sayed.   

After seeing the state justify cold-blooded murder, I realized this government wouldn't deliver justice. People began to lose trust. Even those who had supported Sheikh Hasina turned away.

The Sheikh Hasina regime was not safe for ordinary people. That's why many parents joined the protests alongside their children. In Mohammadpur, there were helicopter patrols and hot water cannons.

Much of the state brutality was hidden from the public. There were times when the streets were so empty that, had I been shot, my body would have simply disappeared with no one to even take me to a hospital. Maybe a rickshaw puller would remember what happened, but the truth would be buried.

BSS: How did you celebrate victory after Hasina fled on August 5?

Rupaiya Srestha: I couldn't celebrate. On that very day, my best friend Parmita Bhattacharya's house in Meherpur was burned down. I had gone to the Parliament area during the celebrations when I received the news. Parmita was from my Holy Cross College days.

From a political lens, such events are common in conflict zones. But witnessing such violence firsthand changed me. It's hard to remain emotionally normal after seeing this level of brutality.

BSS: What kind of Bangladesh do you want after the uprising and what is your role in it?

Rupaiya Srestha: We fought for a just and equal Bangladesh, and we've won. But our responsibility doesn't end there. Rebuilding the state is still an ongoing task.

We want a corruption-free and terror-free society, one without extortion or injustice. Rights of 
ethnic groups must be upheld.
Above all, we want justice. People must be able to access justice without delay. Girls should be able to move freely and safely in our cities.

We must continue the fight that began in July. We have to build a new Bangladesh in line with spirit of the July Mass Uprising.