“Who killed my daughter, and for what crime?”

On Jul 19, 15-year-old Naima was shot to death while standing on a fourth-floor balcony in Dhaka’s Uttara

“Who killed my daughter, and for what crime?” asked Ainunnahar Begum in a tear-stricken voice. “I had so many hopes for her. But all my hopes are gone now. How will I survive?”

Ainunnahar’s daughter, 15-year-old Naima Sultana, was shot dead when violence sparked surrounding the quota reform protests in the capital.

On Jul 19, Naima was standing on the fourth-floor balcony of a rented house in Uttara when she was struck by a bullet in the head.

The 10th grader was a student of Dhaka’s Milestone School & College.

Her father, Golam Mostofa, is a homoeopathic doctor in Chandpur’s Matlab North Upazila.

Naima’s elder sister, Tasfia Sultana, is an 11th-grade student at Milestone School & College. Her younger brother, Abdur Rahman, attends a primary school in Dhaka’s Uttara. She was the middle child of the three siblings.

Ainunnahar lives with her children in a rented house on Uttara Rd 5 in Dhaka.

Naima’s father, who lives in Chandpur, told bdnews24.com: “I wanted my daughter to become a doctor. But it’s all over now. We are all saddened by her death. Who will we ask for justice? I leave that burden in the hands of the Almighty.”

According to Golam Mostafa, bullets were being fired next to his house around 5pm on Jul 19. Naima was standing on the balcony when the bullet hit.

“She immediately fell on the floor,” he said.

She was later taken to a hospital in Uttara, where the doctor declared her dead. She was put to rest at her family cemetery on Jul 20.

Amuakanda village is around 20km from Matlab North Upazila Sadar. Naima’s hometown is a short walk from the west side of the ‘Wapda’ embankment, which runs along the village.

Her family members have not stopped crying after her untimely death. They are filled with grief.

“Naima was very talented and modest. This is why everyone in the area loved her. No one is able to accept her untimely death,” said Fahim Morshed, Naima’s cousin.