In an interview with Amar Desh published on July 30, 2026, Fatema Rahman Bithi said her decision to lead from the front during the July uprising in Tangail was driven by her desire for a Bangladesh founded on equality, justice and democracy. Politically active since 2018, she said restrictions on freedom of expression and repression of students’ and ordinary people’s demands made silence feel like surrender to injustice.

Bithi said she led marches despite threats and attacks she attributed to Chhatra League, police barricades and fears of arrest, and said she also faced legal cases. She described how, on July 18, she took about 50 female students into a diagnostic centre after police began baton charges, firing tear gas and bullets. After police moved away, she said arrangements were made to take the students home safely and send injured male colleagues to hospital.

She said women activists’ leadership, organising and sacrifices have not received full recognition after the uprising, citing cyberbullying and mental harassment. Bithi called for rule of law, democratic rights, freedom of expression, institutional accountability and equality of opportunity, urging younger people to remain active against injustice.