The “Odd Dot Selfie” is a campaign that demonstrates the powerful essence of Glass: The Lion for Change. This campaign emerged as a potent tool for societal change in the patriarchal society of Bangladesh where nearly 87% of women endure abuse whether it be physical, mental, or sexual. This extends further as women are taught to stay silent in the face of abuse since childhood.

By encouraging women to raise their voices, the campaign empowered them to speak up against oppression, challenging the age-old societal norm that dictates women should stay silent! This also led to a shift in behavior, on how women should respond in the face of adversity.

As a symbolic protest against women’s abuse, selfies of off-centered 'tips' (off-centered dots in the forehead) became the language of protest. The campaign’s conscious representation of gender-based violence played a pivotal role in highlighting age-old issues of suppression and injustice.

In Bangladesh, women are suppressed under male dominance, often leading to violent oppression. According to the highest circulated national daily of Bangladesh, almost 87% of women in Bangladesh fall victim to some form of abuse, whether at home or outside. Moreover, the country stands in 4th position in terms of domestic abuse against women.

The main reason is that Bengali women are taught since childhood to compromise rather than protest against oppression.

Even when a handful speaks up against the abuse they face, due to lack of any concentrated effort their voices fade away. Hence, they are unable to break free from this cycle of abuse.

Radio Shadhin, a Bangladeshi media has consistently been vocal about women's empowerment and rights. This aligns with the very name of the brand, Shadhin or ‘independence’, which encapsulates its effort to promote a nation free from gender biasedness.

Another partner of the campaign, Mongol Deep Foundation is a non-profit organization with its core objective to encourage progressive thoughts through cultural transformative movements.

Understanding the significant gap within the concentrated effort to build a movement around violence against women, these two brands came together to build a campaign on a tool that has been an integral part of women’s adornment for centuries, ‘Tip’; an ornamental dot placed on the forehead. A tip symbolizes a woman’s beauty, strength, and happiness. Even today, it is a trendy beauty accessory adorned by women of all ages as seen on social media.

Brief: Devise a campaign that addresses gender-based violence in Bangladesh. Do it in a way that not only drives awareness around it but also takes the form of a concentrated protest against the issue

Objective: Ignite a social movement that would continuously work to eradicate violence against women

Keeping this very objective in mind, ‘Odd dot selfie’, the campaign was created to turn the existing awareness without impact into a movement that challenges the present behavior of women who stay silent in the face of abuse. It further enables them to take a stance against it and turn this into a language of protest.

This very engagement aligns closely with the values of ‘Radio Shadhin’ and ‘Mongol Deep Foundation’ both of which garner women’s rights and equality at their core.

In Bangladesh, the cultural, social, and political climate surrounding gender representation is deeply entrenched in patriarchal norms that perpetuate the suppression of women. Despite laws in place to protect against violence, civil liberties issues persist due to the majority of this violence being not even reported as women are conditioned to remain silent in the face of abuse. This culture of silence amplifies the problem, allowing oppressors not abstaining from their practice of violence, perpetuating a cycle of violence and oppression.

This makes gender-based violence widespread, with nearly 87% of women experiencing some form of abuse, yet the majority of cases go unreported as women don’t speak up.

The "Odd Dot Selfie" campaign sought to address this specific problem by challenging the culture of silence. Through the symbolic gesture of the off-centered 'tip', the campaign provided a platform for women to reclaim their voices and demand justice. By raising awareness and driving movement around gender-based violence, the campaign aims to shift societal behaviors, ultimately contributing to a more equitable society.

Since the 18th century, in Bengali culture, the 'tip' has been adorned by woman, placed at the center of their forehead. The tip properly placed, connotes a woman's beauty, strength, and happiness. Even today, it is a trendy beauty accessory adorned by women of all ages as seen on social media.

To help women raise their voices against oppression, we used this very accessory of beauty with a slightly different meaning: defiance against abuse. When the Tip is placed off-center, it instantly creates discomfort and becomes noticeable.

We then provided this as a tool to women to protest against something that stood in the way of their happiness.

As women posted Odd Dot Selfies on social media, this symbolic gesture transformed selfies into a new form of movement, offering a voice to those who are forced to remain silent in face of abuse.

According to the highest circulated national daily in Bangladesh, almost 87% of women in Bangladesh fall victim to abuse, be it physical, mental, or sexual. While it may seem that this scenario is present only within the underprivileged social class, our research team found it the issue is rather prevalent within all the social classes.

To address this issue and build a movement around it, we targeted the women who possess progressive mindsets to embrace change and break so-called societal barriers.

Our approach includes the core intention to deliver the message to women that it's okay to speak up. To achieve that, we tied up with influencers who took the act of wearing ‘tip’ off-centered to social media.

Getting inspired by this, women joined in and turned the act into a nationwide movement.

The movement started with invitation letters sent to prominent female celebrities and influencers. Over 100 celebrities joined the movement and shared their untold stories of abuse, inspiring thousands of women to share theirs with an odd dot selfie on social media and the hashtag #OddDotSelfie.

To further spread this movement, Radio Shadhin and Mongol Deep organized programs and endorsements and uploaded tutorial videos on social media. The movement gained prime-time coverage on television, spreading the message to women everywhere. This protest did not remain confined online. From posters to rallies, art exhibitions to traditional media, the Odd Dot Selfie spread both nationally and internationally. A website and helpline were launched to offer information, support, and counselling.

Timeline: Started from 29 February, 2024, the campaign is still in motion

Placement: Social media portals, popular news portals, prime time coverage on television

Scale: The campaign was implemented nationwide.

Since launch, over 100 prominent celebrities and influencers, joined the movement sharing their ‘Odd Dot Selfie’. Inspired, women from various backgrounds joined the movement with a hefty 68,000+ participants within 30 days. During this period, #OddDotSelfie became #1 trending hashtag across social media.

The campaign garnered significant attention from both local and international media, resulting in PR value exceeding 5.2M USD with 100+ local and global media covering the movement across 19 countries, reaching a staggering 44.9M+ people.

More importantly, the impact extended beyond social media, as the campaign empowered women to seek help when facing abuse. We saw an 80% increase in call center interaction regarding violence, with a 28% increase in cases filed in police stations, 535 women received counseling in our dedicated help center.

Moreover, this movement has doubled the brand love as Odd Dot Selfie continues to be a symbol of protest for women everywhere.

The "Odd Dot Selfie" campaign is poised to drive progress by empowering women to raise their voices against abuse and challenge systemic injustice.

Moving forward, we aim to scale this idea by forging partnerships with organizations and influencers committed to gender equality. The campaign's next phase involves providing ongoing legal and mental health support through the permanent Odd Dot Selfie website chat and helpline.

Furthermore, we envision the campaign evolving into a broader movement, encouraging individuals to proudly wear the off-centered 'tip' as a symbol of protest for years to come, turning the campaign's momentum into sustained societal change around gender representation.