Professor Shamima Sultana, chair of Jahangirnagar University’s Bangla department, said she removed then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s portrait from her office during the 2024 quota reform movement. In an interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha marking the second anniversary of the July mass uprising, she said the action was a personal expression of moral protest against attacks, arrests, shootings, killings and alleged torture of students.

Sultana said the decision was neither politically motivated nor impulsive, but reflected values she had held since student life. She cited her earlier support for the 2018 quota reform movement, the safe-road movement and anti-corruption protests on campus. She described the July 15, 2024 attack on students at the vice-chancellor’s residence, followed by reports of the killing of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed and civilian deaths, as pivotal events.

She said she kept her office and the department chair’s room open for students seeking shelter and allowed protesters to use office Wi-Fi for communication. After the photograph spread online, she said she received abusive calls, threatening messages and personal attacks. A proposed show-cause action was later cancelled after a change in university administration following August 5.