President Hamid signs ordinance on capital punishment in rape cases

Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid has issued an ordinance elevating the maximum punishment in rape cases to the death sentence from life imprisonment.

Hamid on Tuesday signed the amendment to the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, which was approved by the cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The cabinet approved the legal amendment for death penalty in rape cases on Monday.

Different organisations have been protesting at Dhaka’s Shahbagh square and other parts of the country for nearly a week over sexual assaults on a woman in Noakhali and the rape of another woman in Sylhet’s MC College.

The maximum punishment under the previous law in rape cases was life imprisonment.

In Bangladesh, most of the cases get forgotten due to the delay in trials. A lack of proper medical tests of the victims, fears of reprisals and social stigma and interference by influential people make it difficult to get justice.

As many as 4,541 rape cases have been reported in the past 16 years. The accused were punished in only 60 of these incidents, according to data from the tribunals.

At least 889 women have been raped in Bangladesh between January and August 2020, according to rights group Ain O Salish Kendra or ASK.

As many as 192 others faced attempted rapes and sexual harassment in this period, while nine of the victims took their own lives.

Rights activists believe the numbers are much higher because many of the victims do not complain to the police.