Country flares up in protest against rape

Protests against unending incidents of rape, sexual harassment and torture against women across Bangladesh flared up in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on Monday as a video of a 37-year-old woman getting sexually assaulted and tortured by a group of youths in Begumganj upazila in Noakhali went viral on social media.

The video showed that the youths, aged between 20 and 30, stripped the housewife naked, molested her and started beating and dragging her despite her cries as she kept begging for mercy holding on to one of the offender’s legs in a village of Eklashpur union of the upazila.

It showed that the woman’s effort to safeguard her honour went in vein as the offenders paid no heed to her cries and entreaties although she kept at it and even called out to them as ‘father’.

One of the offenders grabbed the video of the whole scene on the night of September 2 and uploaded it on social media on Sunday, 32 days after the incident, police officials said.

After publishing the video on Sunday, police rescued the victim who lodged two cases, one under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the other under Pornography Control Act, with Begumganj Police Station on Sunday evening, Noakhali superintend of police Alamgir Hossain told New Age.

The SP said that drives were on to nab the other offenders.

Besides, a team of the Rapid Action Battalion on early Monday arrested prime accused Nur Hossain Badal, 20, and Dalwal Bahini ringleader Md Dalwar Hossain, 26, of the same area from Kamrangirchar in Dhaka and Siddhirganj from Narayanganj respectively, RAB-11 commanding officer lieutenant colonel Khondoker Saiful Islam said in a press briefing.

He said that though Dalwar’s name was not mentioned in the case, all the accused were members of his gang.

Asked whether the detained ones had any political identity, he said they were not inclined to know these as any offender has no party.

Dalwar, in his Facebook wall, identified himself as a ‘soldier of Bangabandhu’s ideology’, used name of the ruling Awami League’s youth front Bangladesh Juba League and slogan ‘Joy Bangla-Joy Bangabandhu’ and urged to keep faith on ‘boat’, the electoral symbol of ruling Awami League.

Villagers said that Dalwar is a common face in meetings and procession of AL and Juba League in Begumganj and he runs a gang after his name and that he is loyal to the local AL lawmaker Mamunur Rashid Kiron.

Mamunur Rashid Kiron MP, also general secretary of Begumganj upazila AL, claimed that Dalwar neither had any connection to AL nor to any of its associate organisations.

Begumganj police station officer-in-charge Md Harun-ar-Rashid Chowdhury said that the victims named none of the offenders —  Nur Hossain Badal, 22, Md Rahim, 20, Abul Kalam, 22, Israfil Hossain, 22, Sahu, 21, Shamsuddin alias Sumon, 39, Abdur Rob, 41, Arif, 18 and Rahmat Ullah, 38, and the other seven or eight unidentified accused in both the cases.

He said that they produced two arrested accused Rahim and Rahmatullah before a Noakhali court that granted the police permission to interrogate them for six days in custody.

He said that the victim had given her statement before a court in Noakhali.

The victim in her case statement alleged that the offenders tied her husband, harassed her sexually and tortured her and grabbed video of the whole scene and had been giving ‘immoral proposals’ threatening her to spread the video and, as she refused, they uploaded the video, Begumganj police said.

The victim’s father said that they did not make it public as the offenders were influential.

In Dhaka, left-leaning student organisations jointly staged a demonstration for seven hours at Shahbagh intersection in the capital since 11:00am that created huge traffic congestions in the surrounding areas.

The protesters had been chanting slogans against the government’s inaction to protect the girls and women from rapes and violence and demanded immediate resignation of the home minister.

Political leaders including Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki, Communist Party of Bangladesh leader Abdullah Al Kafi Ratan and Left Democratic Alliance coordinator and Socialist Party of Bangladesh leader Bazlur Rashid Firoz spoke at the protest rally.

The demonstrators were seen holding posters bearing slogans such as ‘shame, shame’, ‘we demand home minister’s resignation’, ‘rapists do not get punishment here’ and ‘state machinery stands as rapists’.

Chhatra Odhikar Parishad held a rally in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh protesting against the Noakhali incident and alleged that Juba League men had committed the offence.

Speakers at the rally alleged that the rape and violence against women had been increasing due to the culture of impunity and as the politically influential quarters were involved in the incidents.

They urged the people to take to the streets to protest against the incidents.

Working journalists in the capital formed a human chain on National Press Club premises in Dhaka protesting against rape, sexual harassment and torture against women across the country.

Students of different schools and colleges, including Uttara High School and RAJUK College blocked the Dhaka-Gazipur highway at House Building areas for about an hour since 11:00am demanding immediate arrest of all the rapists and exemplary punishment to all of them.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday condemned the Noakhali incident and alleged that the law and order situation had deteriorated due to the AL-led government’s misrule.

In separate statements, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh National Awami Party – Bangladesh NAP, National Human Rights Commission, Samajik Protirodh Committee, Ain O Salish Kendra, Naripokkho and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust condemned the countrywide rapes and oppression against women, including that in Noakhali.

New Age correspondent in Chattogram reported that citizens from all walks of life under the banner of Sarbastarer Sachetan Nagarikbrinda formed a human chain in front of the Cheragi Pahar intersection in Chattogram on Monday evening demanding speedy trial of all involved in raping and torturing women.

In Noakhali district town, Chhatra O Juba Odhikar Parishad, Noakhalir Sorbostorer Jonogon, Eso Gori Unnayan Sanghtha and Nari Odhikar Jote held separate demonstrations throughout the day.

According to rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra data, 975 girls and women were raped and 43 of them were killed after rape and 12 others committed suicide after rape between January and September of the ongoing year.

During the same time, the data shows, 161 girls and women were sexually harassed and 12 of them committed suicide after facing sexual harassment while 12 people, including nine men and three women, were killed for protesting at sexual harassment.

The data show that 1,413 girls and women were raped in 2019, 732 in 2018, 818 in 2017, 724 in 2016 and 846 others were raped in 2015.

It further show that 17 were killed, 15 injured and 249 others were sexually harassed in 2019, 12 killed, 26 injured and 120 others harassed in 2018, 13 killed, 58 injured and 168 manhandled in 2017 and 14 killed, 61 injured and 158 others were harassed in 2016 for protesting against stalking.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net