Nobody ever said leaving the 7th century was easy, especially when you've been there for 1,300 years....
DHAKA (AFP) — About 100 people were injured Friday as thousands of Islamists fought for hours with police in the Bangladesh capital over equal rights for women, police and officials said.
The roads in front of Dhaka's main mosque became a battleground as about 5,000 men armed with bamboo sticks and bricks clashed with police, who responded with tear gas and batons, deputy police commissioner Mazharul Islam said.
"They attacked the policemen with bricks and sticks immediately after the weekly Friday prayers. We shot tear gas shells and baton-charged the unruly activists," Islam said, adding that dozens were injured.
At least 40 policemen were injured as the protesters threw bricks and stones like "heavy rainfall," at the helmeted force, Islam said.
More than 50 people, mainly members of Islamic parties, were also injured and were treated in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said senior nurse Harunur Rashid.
Police said the activists belonging to the Committee to Resist Anti-Koran Laws, a coalition of Islamic parties, started the clashes by chasing police.
The protests were against a women's development policy adopted in March by the government, advocating equal property rights for women.
ZIP
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