Umama Fatema, spokesperson of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) movement, has stepped down from the platform. She announced her decision in a post on her verified Facebook profile late Friday night.

She wrote, “A central council of the Students Against Discrimination was held the day before yesterday. With that, my formal journey with the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement ends here.”

She explained, “After the formation of the political party called NCP, I decided to work under this banner out of a sense of duty to complete the unfinished work from July. But if this banner operated independently—without being tied to the party’s influence and prescriptions—it would have put many people’s political futures at risk. So I came under extreme pressure, both online and offline, to stop working with this banner. I took it as a challenge and tried to keep the banner active out of goodwill. I have nothing more to say about the developments that followed. The very people I stood beside in meetings and marches later orchestrated a smear campaign against me using juniors.”

She added, “Watching everything fall apart right in front of my eyes after witnessing such a major event like the July uprising has been extremely difficult. Later, after consulting with friends and well-wishers, I decided to withdraw myself from this banner. Although I didn’t formally resign, I had effectively severed ties with the banner back in April–May.”

She further explained, “Considering the uprising, I hereby withdraw all my support for this platform and my vote cast in the council. I am deeply disturbed. Just as the uprising inspired hope, the group interests within this platform have shattered many people’s dreams and wasted their time. I joined the platform to uphold the spirit of the uprising. Before joining, I was promised I’d be able to work independently. But as soon as I became the platform’s spokesperson, I realized that words like reform, July, martyr, and injured were merely slogans. Not just me—many students joined this platform with dreams of real change. All of us were deceived.”

In a recent interview with Bonik Barta, Umama Fatema had hinted that although Students Against Discrimination (SAD) remains active as an organization, complications had arisen within the platform.

The Students Against Discrimination (SAD) movement began on July 1 last year, demanding reform in the quota system for government jobs. The movement eventually escalated into a mass uprising. On August 5, that uprising brought an end to the Awami League’s 16-year rule.