Bangladesh woman in jail for bringing false rape charges against ex-husband

A Dhaka court has sent a woman to prison for falsely accusing her former husband of rape.

She is facing indictment and sentencing after the order by Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal judge Jesmin Ara Begum on Monday.

Her husband Nazrul Islam, a grocer, has already served seven months in prison for the case, said his lawyer SM Kamal Uddin Ahmed.

A person may be sentenced up to seven years in prison and fined for lodging a false complaint under Section 17 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

The woman from Keraniganj started 16 other cases against her husband and took around Tk 600,000 by promising settlement.

South Keraniganj Sub-inspector (SI) Asaduzzaman Talukder listed seven cases filed by the wife while he recommended the husband’s acquittal. Islam was already acquitted from these cases.

The couple separated in 2011 and has an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son.

The woman in the case claimed her husband forced himself on her at her home in Aganagar on Jul 12 last year while he was visiting their daughter who lived with her.

“She has destroyed me. She’s wasted my money and my time. I want her punished in accordance with the law,” the husband said.

“The judge could have handed her punishment under the Act from 2000. But the defendant must now submit a written complaint in court after the amendment in 2003,” said Public Prosecutor Arfan Uddin. 

“People barely make use of Section 17.”