Bangladesh Government must battle against rape, people must battle for safety

A NUMBER of incidents of rape and sexual harassment of and torture against women, at least seven having made the headlines on Tuesday, show failures of the justice system in ensuring women’s safety and the absence of the political will to attend to the problems. Six of the incidents — the rape of a young woman several times on Dhaka’s outskirts of Savar in three months in which one was arrested on Monday, the rape of a housewife in Sylhet on Sunday evening in which two Sramik League leaders were arrested on Monday, the rape of a physically challenged girl in Rangamati on Monday morning in which one was arrested, the rape of a girl twice by a madrassah superintendent in Kushtia on Sunday, the rape of a schoolgirl after physical torture, as the case filed on Monday says, in Gopalganj on October 3 in which one of the perpetrators videoed the incident and the rape of a widow by five people in Lakshmipur on Sunday night in which two were arrested after a case was filed on Monday — have happened or come to light when protests flared up across the country against the sexual harassment of a woman who was made to strip off her clothes by a group of young people in the presence of her husband and father, who were tied beside, at Begumganj in Noakhali on September 2.

The protests flared up on Monday after the group, said to be led by a young man who in his Facebook account claims to be a ‘soldier of Bangabandhu’s ideology’ and is reported to have often been seen at meetings and processions of the ruling Awami League and its youth front Juba League at Begumganj, uploaded the video of the incident on social media on October 4, which shows that the women threw herself at the feet of a perpetrator and begged for mercy. The police, who said that they were not inclined to know the political identity of the gang leader and that perpetrators have no party, said that the gang leader had not been named in the case but all the accused were members of the gang he leads. Villagers say that he is a man of the local lawmaker’s while the lawmaker has brushed aside any connection of the gang leader to the Awami League or any of its associate organisations. The High Court, which on Monday set up an investigation, has asked the government and the police to explain in two weeks why they would not be directed to take measures against the Begumganj police officer-in-charge and other personnel for their negligence in saving the victim. Police inaction, if not failure, appears to be plausible because of the political affiliation of the accused, ingrained in power relation encouraged by the culture of impunity born out of justice delayed or denied in such cases in the past. The end-September gang-rape of a woman by a group of Chhatra League leaders and activists in Sylhet is an ample testimony to such a proposition.

While the government must have the political will to battle against rape of and torture against women by breaking the culture of impunity and hacking at the power relation that encourages such crimes, the police must not fail to discharge their duties. The government must also amend the legislation if it does not appear deterrent enough against such crimes. Above all, people at large must battle for women’s safety in a sustained manner.