2020: Rampant sexual violence bedevils Bangladesh amid pandemic despite death penalty for rape

The year 2020 started with the rape of a Dhaka University student and protests erupted up and down Bangladesh. But violence against women in the country continued unchecked.

The nation saw a rise in sexual violence towards women even as it grappled with the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

In desperation to crack down such violence, the government elevated the highest punishment for rape to death from life term but the move proved no deterrent as the data provided by the non-government organisations reveal a rising trend in violence against female members of society.

The human rights activists warn that women in Bangladesh will continue to confront adversities with a lack of protection as they step into the new year.

The country is witnessing an “epidemic of rape”, according to some of the activists who called for proper implementation of the law to end the menace.

The Dhaka University student was raped in Kurmitola on Jan 5 evening, which led the university and other organisations to burst in protests.

In September, when the people were struggling to save their lives and livelihoods amid the pandemic, a newly wed woman was raped by a group of students at Sylhet MC College.

Before the protests against the MC College incident could die down, miscreants stripped a woman naked while assaulting her in Noakhali. A video of the incident went viral on social media, leaving the country in a shock.

The United Nations then called for legal reforms to ensure quick justice for rape. Facing widespread protests and condemnation, the government raised the maximum penalty to death for rape. But data show the picture has not changed.

As many as 1,546 women were raped from January to November in 2020, according to Ain O Salish Kendra, a legal rights group. Among them, 51 were killed and 14 died by suicide. Also, 974 children were raped in this period.

The numbers of rape victims was 1,413 women and 986 children in 2019, nearly double the figures of 2018.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad compiled the information of 1,247 women and girls who were raped from January to November this year.

The original number of rape cases in the country is much higher as not all of the incidents are reported, believe the women’s rights activists.

Violent incidents of gang rape, kidnap and rape, and the video of the torture incident going viral on social media raised concerns among the people in 2020.

Perpetrators in reported rape cases belonged to several socio-economic groups, including fathers, close relatives, law enforcers, public representatives, political leaders and even clerics. In some cases, women were reported to be involved.

After January, the highest number of cases of violence against women was reported in the September-October period, prompting the police to hold around 7,000 rallies in a single day in October to create awareness among people.

DEBATE OVER CLOTHES

Amid the protest against torture of women, some people made headlines with their remarks blaming women’s dresses for the rapes.

In October, businessman-turned-actor Ananta Jalil drew widespread condemnation after calling on women to dress “modestly”, blaming their clothing choices for inducing sexual advances in a video titled “Ananta teaches rapists a lesson”, which was posted to his Facebook page. He later retracted the comments under a storm of criticism.

Rezaul Karim Bablu, a member of parliament, blamed the feminists for the surge in the incidence of rape and violence against women. He also supported the views of Shah Ahmed Shafi, the late chief of radical Islamist group Hifazat-e Islam, on keeping women behind veil to prevent sexual harassment. He stuck to his statement despite intense criticisms.

In early October, a woman in Brahmanbaria came made headlines when she carried a placard in front of the district’s press club that read- “Dhorshoner karon porda na, khomota,”- roughly translated to “clothe is not the reason behind rape; power is.” Photos of her carrying the placard created a social media storm as support poured in for her views.

GOVERNMENT ELEVATED RAPE PUNISHMENT

With the escalating number of rape cases in Bangladesh, the United Nations expressed “serious concerns” in October over the incidents. It urged the government to ensure speedy trial of the cases of violence against women and bring other legal reforms to ensure justice.

A woman holds a placard at a human-chain protest by the Bangladesh Nari Mukti Kendra and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front outside the National Press Club in Dhaka on Oct 6, 2020 demanding exemplary punishment of the rapists of a woman at the MC College in Sylhet. Photo: Joyanta Saha

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, protests broke out in Dhaka's Shahbagh and other parts of the country over the sexual assaults on the woman in Noakhali and the rape at MC College.

The activists demanded an end to the “culture of impunity” and introducing speedy trial tribunals for the hearing of the cases of violence against women. Bangladesh Mahila Parishad demanded a separate commission to look after the issue.

Facing the protests, the government initiated a legal amendment to elevate the maximum punishment in rape cases to death from life imprisonment.

On Oct 12, President Md Abdul Hamid issued an ordinance elevating the maximum punishment in rape cases to the death sentence.

He signed the amendment to the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, which was approved by the cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The ordinance was later passed into a law in November.

Amid an outcry over sexual violence in Bangladesh, a judge in Bagerhat scheduled his verdict on a rape case within a week into the beginning of the trial in a rare effort to deliver speedy justice for sexual violence towards women and girls.

The initiative to elevate the highest punishment for rape, however, failed to curtail the rape incidents, substantiated the Ain O Salish Kendra report.

According to their report, 975 women were raped in the first nine months of the year, while in October and November, the figure was 571, even after the new law with higher punishment was introduced.

The highest number of rape incidents was reported in October as per the report by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad. Media reported at least 370 incidents of rape of women and girls that month, the report said. The figure was 877 in the first nine months of the year.

Media regularly reported the incidents of torture and rape in December as well. In one of the incidents, a family was forced to leave their home after they were socially stigmatised by a mosque committee following the rape of their daughter who also underwent an abortion.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

Human rights activist Aroma Dutta is hopeful that elevation of maximum punishment will help curb the crime much the same way acid violence incidents have dropped.

“This is basically a mental disease. When they (rapists) will see that it’s not a game but carries the danger of a severe punishment, they’ll become aware,” she said.

Advocate Elina Khan, the executive director of Bangladesh Manabadhikar Sangstha, disagrees.

“Capital punishment for rape was already a provision in the law in case the victim died after rape. So, this death sentence is not entirely a new thing,” she said.

Leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s Dhaka University unit formed a human chain on the campus on Tuesday demanding maximum punishment for the rapist of an undergraduate student of the university in the capital’s Kurmitola. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

“If we can’t create awareness among those committing the crimes, if we can’t make them regain their values and morality, will there be any use of the punishment? Those who commit these crimes never read newspaper; neither do they watch TV talk shows. They may watch entertaining stuff, especially pornography.”

To address the problem, the authorities must work at the grass roots, the human rights activist said.

“We need to create awareness among them. We have to let them know that they can be hanged for committing such crimes. As long as they know that they can get away with the crime by bribing the law enforcers, no law will be effective,” she argued.

Many other countries properly implement stringent laws. “But here we have legal loopholes. We can’t gather evidence when an incident takes place. Witnesses don’t want to testify because of a lack of protection,” Elina pointed out.

“Elevating punishment will have no efficacy when it is not applied properly. Proper enforcement of the law is a must. Awareness-building activities should go on at home and in the educational institutions to inculcate the values and morality in people.”

Besides providing them with equal rights and respect, people should stop treating women as a commodity, said Advocate Salma Ali, the president of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers' Association.

“This year they (men) have no job. Many of them returned from abroad and are now jobless; all they are doing now is torturing their wives. In some cases, marital rapes are taking place.”

“Rape has turned into nothing less than an epidemic in the country," Salma remarked, "we must turn around from this situation and for a start, the rulers must change their mindset first.”

Merely raising the highest punishment will not be enough to check the escalating crime, the lawyer said. “The government must keep a constant vigil to prevent rape incidents. Families, police, and public prosecutors and the courts must be accountable (for delay in ensuring justice),” she said.