Bangladesh rocked by fresh protests over sexual assaults

[MenInG]

Hundreds of Bangladeshis have staged protests and scuffled with police for a second day as anger mounts over the latest instance of sexual violence towards women.

The protests in Dhaka and elsewhere erupted after video emerged showing several men stripping and attacking a woman from a disadvantaged community in the southern district of Noakhali.

Before being taken down, the clip was shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook, sparking outrage online in a country where activists say only a tiny percentage of sexual assault victims see justice.

The protests come after a week of growing outrage in neighbouring India against the alleged gang rape of an “untouchable” Dalit teenager by four higher-caste fellow villagers.

Amnesty International in Bangladesh said the new “disturbing footage demonstrates the shocking violence that Bangladeshi women are routinely being subjected to”, and called for a thorough and impartial investigation.

Even before the video footage emerged, anger had been brewing since several members of the ruling party’s student wing were arrested last week and charged with gang raping a woman in northern Sylhet.

In Dhaka on Tuesday, demonstrators scuffled with police while marching on the office of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leaving several people injured.

Dhaka University students and some left-wing protesters chanted “shame Hasina” and called on her to resign, in a rare show of defiance in a country where open criticism of the government is rare.

According to the local human rights organisation Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK), between January and September 2020 nearly 1,000 rape cases were reported, including 208 gang rapes.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/6/bangladesh-rocked-by-fresh-protests-over-sexual-assaults

 

[Lurker_Ind]

Poor Dalits are not safe any where in the subcontinent. Not even Bangladesh.
Equality is only on paper. Reality is very different.

 

[sweep_shot]

Very concerning signs indeed. I hope some harsh and decisive actions will be taken.

 

[sweep_shot]

Bangladesh PM urged to take action on rape cases

DHAKA: There were protests in Bangladesh on Wednesday against recent incidents of rape and sexual violence, with some demonstrators demanding that the prime minister introduce the death penalty for convicted rapists.

According to data from the human rights group Ain O Salish Kendro, 975 women were raped between January and September this year, with 208 of those subjected to gang rape. Forty-five women were killed after being assaulted, while 12 were reported to have killed themselves.

“It's happening due to the existing system of lawlessness in society,” Asmani Asha, a spokesperson for the civil society group Bangladesh Against Rape (BAR), told Arab News. “The whole system in the country needs an overhaul to ensure a safe environment for women.”

The protests followed two gang-rapes in the country’s Noakhali and Sylhet districts.

In the first case, which took place on Sept. 2, the victim was attacked at her home. The perpetrators filmed the assault and shared it on social media. There have been six arrests in Noakhali so far.

On Sept. 25, a woman who was with her husband at a college campus in Sylhet city was abducted and gang raped in a dormitory. Police have arrested six people, who are reported to be student leaders in the ruling Awami League (AL) party headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“The ruling party’s activists were found accused in connection with rape incidents, and many cases didn't come under the purview of legal systems. Our prime minister is a woman too. So we expect a bold initiative from her to protect the women of the country," Asha added, demanding the death sentence for the perpetrators. “Our protests will continue until the demands are met."

There is no provision for the death penalty for sex-related crimes in Bangladesh, and individuals are sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted.

The government has pledged to bring all perpetrators to justice “irrespective of their political and social affiliations.”

Officials on Wednesday expressed their solidarity with the victims.

“I am very saddened over the recent rape and violence incidents in the country … I express my solidarity with the protesters and personally believe that the culprits should be awarded capital punishment," Fazilatun Nessa Indira, minister for women and children affairs, told Arab News. She urged Bangladeshis to “boycott” the rapists.

“A pervert mindset instigates people in such heinous misdeeds. Our law enforcement agencies are working relentlessly to prevent the miscreants. Our parents should be more caring to teach children about morality and they should be more vigilant about their children's movement and activities.”

AL general secretary and government minister Obaidul Quader urged people to be patient and to inform authorities about any incidents of violence against women.

“I will tell everyone to be patient, no need to protest,” he told a party meeting on Tuesday. “The government is not releasing anyone involved. That is why the government is bringing the perpetrators to justice to solve the problem.”

But rights groups are pushing for the Women and Children Repression Act to be revised and for authorities to make necessary amendments so that perpetrators cannot exploit loopholes to evade justice.

“We need to see the whole situation from a holistic approach,” rights activist Khushi Kabir told Arab News. “The authorities in charge should keep in mind that their duty is to serve the state, not any political party.”

She said that the government alone could not stop violence against women, and that authorities should call for social unity to make people aware of crimes against women.

Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon, a law professor at Dhaka University, said there needed to be a change in the existing trial process for rape cases.

“In some cases, the laws are not women-friendly,” he added. “The victims have to face another round of embarrassment during the trials.”

Loopholes in the legal process meant that 3 percent of rape cases tried in court resulted in convictions.

“If we don't change the procedures, we can't ensure justice for the victims.”

Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1746521/world.

 

[The Viper]

Bangladesh mulls death penalty for rapists as protests rage

Dhaka, Bangladesh – As protests flare across Bangladesh over a series of rapes and sexual assaults, its government says it is considering the death penalty for the offenders.

Law Minister Anisul Huq told Al Jazeera that his ministry is set to place a proposal before the cabinet on Monday to make urgent amendments to the laws dealing with sexual assault.

“We are thinking of capital punishment instead of life imprisonment… This measure will be taken as per the direction of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” said Huq.

In the past week, Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country of 170 million people, has seen unprecedented protests and rallies across the capital Dhaka and other cities as angry demonstrators demand justice and stricter punishments in rape cases.

Placards bearing messages such as “Hang the rapists” and “No mercy to rapists” were seen as tens of thousands of students and women marched this week.

One of those students, Saima Ajmeri, braved the scorching sun, intermittent rain, and the fear of COVID-
19 infection as she hit the streets for five days straight.

“I was always shy and stayed away from protest rallies and processions as I am an introvert. But now I feel I can no longer stay silent. These rapes just can’t go on and the rapists can’t go scot-free. Something has to change,” the 21-year-old university student told Al Jazeera.

Protests led mainly by women erupted after a video emerged this month showing several men stripping and attacking a woman in the southern district of Noakhali.
In her statement, the woman said she was first raped by one of the accused at gunpoint last year. He assaulted her at gunpoint several times over the year, threatening her with gang rape if she resisted.

She was gang-raped by the man and a number of his associates on September 2, and a video of the assault was made to blackmail her for money and to agree to sexual encounters with the group. She refused, and the men released the video on social media.

Eight people have been arrested in connection with the case.

Days before the Noakhali video went viral, anger had already been brewing after several members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League – the student wing of the governing party – were arrested and charged with gang-raping a woman in the northern town of Sylhet last month.

The latest round of protests first began on social media as hundreds of users on Facebook and Twitter changed their profile photos to an empty black space, denoting anger.

Later, the same social media platforms were used by the protesters to organise human chains, rallies and demonstrations in different parts of the country.

This is the first time in Bangladesh that such large-scale protests against sexual violence have been organised for a prolonged period. In January this year, a large day-long protest was held after a student of Dhaka University was raped in the capital.

Following that incident, the country’s High Court ordered the law ministry to form a commission within 30 days to address a troubling rise in sexual assaults and submit its report by June. More than nine months after the court order, the commission is yet to be formed.

“We are protesting against this culture of impunity and nonchalance,” said Auroni Semonti Khan, a Dhaka University student who led one of the protests in the city’s Shahbagh area.

“Justice has to be ensured in any case of rape.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/11/protests-against-rape-erupt-in-bangladesh

 

[Firebat]

Bangladesh to introduce death penalty for rape

Bangladesh is to introduce the death penalty for rape cases, following days of protests about the country's high level of sexual violence against women.

Law Minister Anisul Haq told the BBC that the president would issue an ordinance on Tuesday making it law.

There was widespread outrage in Bangladesh last week after footage of a brutal gang assault on a woman went viral on social media.

An activist group says it recorded about 5,400 rape cases last year.

But activists say conviction rates are extremely low and many cases go unreported because women fear they will be stigmatised. Protesters galvanised by last week's viral video have demanded faster trials and changes to the way rape cases are prosecuted.

An investigation by Bangladesh's National Human Rights Commission found that the woman in the viral video, who was attacked in the southeastern district of Noakhalim, had been raped repeatedly over time and terrorised. Eight men were arrested after the video emerged.

In a separate case another woman was allegedly gang raped last week in a hostel in the northern district of Sylhet, leading to the arrest of several members of the student wing of the ruling party.

Bangladesh was rocked over the weekend by an unprecedented level of protest. Demonstrators carried signs reading "Hang the rapists" and "No mercy to rapists". In the capital Dhaka, a mock gallows was erected by protesters.

Responding directly to the protests, the government decided to make the change by way of an ordinance, since parliament is not sitting - effectively passing it directly into law.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54480233