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April 5, 2006

Bangladesh: Muslim Fatwa Sees Rape Victim Flogged

A disturbing piece of news from the Bangladesh Daily Star relates the case of a woman who became a victim of rape in Fulchari upazila (borough) in Gaibandha district, in the north of Bangladesh.

Rapes are not unusual, though Gaibandha district seems to have a high amount for a rural district. What is unusual here is that the 16-year old rape victim, Kanti Begum, who was attacked and sexually assaulted on January 31 by two men, was subjected to local Muslim justice. This was meted out by two clerics from the Fulchari madrassa. As a result of this, on March 24, not only were the two rapists sentenced to a public flogging of 57 lashes, but Kanti, the rape victim, was sentenced to the same punishment.

The verdict was made according to "Islamic jurisprudence" by Senior principal of the madrassa, Sirajul Islam, and lecturer Aminul Islam.

What makes this case worse is that the 16 year old victim was given 51 of her 57 lashes before she collapsed unconscious, and the two rapists, Madhu Mia and Fariduddin Fakim, were only given 27 lashes before they fled the scene. They are now in hiding, and it is believed they are being sheltered by villagers.

As is common in cases of rape which provoke public outrage, a human chain has been formed, involving thousands of people from various walks of life. This was organised by Social Endeavour Groups, Human Rights Parishad, and also Lokmorcha and Family Repression Resisting Jote. The demonstration of hand-holding was followed by a protest meeting.

Speakers at the meeting demanded that the rapists and those responsible for the fatwa be sent to trial. So far, no police action has ben taken. The whippings were carried out by six local men, Munshi Abdus Samad, Mohsin Ali, Abdur Rashid, Shaju Mia, Mokles and Khoka Mia, who have not been arrested so far.

On February 25 this year a 15 year old girl in Pacher Kura village in Gaibandha district was raped while she tended goats in a field. She was raped by three young men who dragged her to a wheat field to commit the assault. Her parents went to village elders, to demand justice, but even though the girl had named her attackers, the village court told them to wait for some days. The girl became so distraught, and made to feel disgraced, that she went into a bamboo cluster and poured kerosene over herself, which she ignited. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition, with burns to her chest, back and face. Her parents claimed the elders tried to prevent justice being served by bribes, rather than trial procedures.

A notorious case from the same district led in 2002 led to the formation of the Speedy Trials System, which cuts bureaucracy, which formerly clogged up trial procedures. A nine-year old girl called Trisha used to be regularly tormented by young men as she returned from school. On July 17, 2002, she jumped into a pond to flee her attackers. Unable to swim, she then proceeded to drown, while her tormentors looked on, offering no help. Massive public protests in the district and Bangladesh led to a speeding up of the court procedures, and on Sept 30 that year, after only 73 days, three men were sentenced to hang.

Even though Bangladesh aims officially to give women equal rights, there are numerous instances of domestic violence against women. The causes are said to connected mainly to dowry issues, and also to rejections of marriage proposals, teasing that leads to tragedies, and extra-marital affairs. As a result, many women are raped, and in an increasingly common crime, acid attacks.

In villages, fatwas can be ordered against women by village elders, who have no legal or religious qualifications. We reported last year of such a fatwa even being enacted after a woman's death in Fakirpara village in Tanore upazila, Rajshahi district.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 5, 2006 3:29 PM

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Posted by: Christian at April 7, 2006 2:17 AM

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