A Distinguished Committee, An Unsettled Voice: Analysing the Safeguarding Inquiry Framework in Bangladesh Women's Cricket

When the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) formed a five-member committee to investigate last year's sexual harassment allegations in women's cricket, I found myself asking a simple question: if the structure of the committee itself is the central issue, how do we trust its findings? The committee is headed by Barrister Rashna Imam, a Supreme Court lawyer, alongside Barrister Nazia Kabir, Barrister Anita Ghazi Rahman, and Zarin Mahmud Hossain. Four names is all it takes to see the signal clearly: this is a legal-heavy framework. Three of the five members are barristers. But the committee's most important detail is its fifth member, a former women's cricketer, who remains unnamed. I opened my notebook and began sorting the rows of committee composition the way I would sort match data. Rashna Imam's inclusion is undeniably weighty. Her Supreme Court background and legal expertise will give this inquiry a firm professional foundation. But here is the fine print that matters: she was previously a member of BCB's ad-hoc committee. That is a double-edged signal. On one hand, she understands the institution's inner workings, which could speed things up. On the other, when an 'independent' committee is chaired by a former BCB committee member, external observers will naturally question how arms-length it really is. I have learned over my reporting career that the label of a committee and its actual terms of reference are not the same thing. Independence is not self-proving. The committee's timing is equally significant: it was formed after Tamim Iqbal took over board responsibilities. A former national captain entering governance brings fresh public legitimacy. It is a positive signal that the new leadership is treating this seriously. But the subtle pattern I want to track is this: a committee as the first order of business on an issue as grave as harassment allegations demands attention. The more I examined the facts, the more I became convinced that the real test will come when the terms of reference are published, and when findings are disclosed if allegations are proven. The composition of the committee has raised another concern. That is the absence of the fifth member. Only a former women's cricketer can represent victims' trust on this committee. Without her, the committee is launching with an incomplete structure from the start. The frustration is compounded by the statement from BCB Women's Wing chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu, who said action will be taken as soon as allegations are received. That statement signals a necessary institutional shift — from a reactive review to a standing intake mechanism. But where is the backup for that commitment? What is the timeline? Where is the roadmap? Without answers to these questions, the committee risks squandering a rare opportunity. In more than a decade in this industry, I have seen that institutional transparency matters more than legal vetting. However skilled a committee may be, if its terms of reference are not public, complainants cannot know how to engage. The more I sorted the information about this committee's composition, the more I understood something new: if the committee does not complete its full five-member form, and if the former women's cricketer is not appointed quickly, the start will be delayed. And if another allegation surfaces in the meantime, public confidence will nosedive. I have seen this pattern play out before, where a well-intentioned committee launches underprepared, and eventually the public loses faith entirely. There is another angle. Beyond the discussion around this committee lies an important local reality. In Bangladesh women's cricket, there is still hesitation among families about sending girls to play. If this star-studded committee cannot function effectively, that hesitation will only deepen. But if the committee's very structure remains in question, then this will not just be an inquiry into a case — it will be a test of rebuilding families' trust in women's cricket. I looked at the pages of my data notebook. There are no scores here, no match statistics. These pages contain only the composition and official statements of the BCB's investigation committee. Yet within this dry information, a clear story hides: when an institution forms a committee in crisis, its first test is the committee's composition. If the fifth member is appointed quickly and its terms of reference are published, we can see this committee as a credible path. If obstacles arise on that path, the question will remain: will a committee be judged by its composition or by its outcomes? We will need a few more months to know the answer.