Bangladesh has erupted in protests following the death of an eight-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a family member.
The incident took place while the girl was visiting an older sister’s house in the city of Magura earlier this month. Police have arrested the sister’s father-in-law on suspicion of rape.
The victim’s death on Thursday at 1pm (local time) intensified a series of protests in the country, led by students and women. The girl died after battling for her life for six days, despite being transferred across multiple healthcare facilities in a desperate attempt to save her.
She suffered three cardiac arrests and “although doctors managed to stabilise the condition twice, the heart failed to restart after the third episode”, the government’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) department said in a statement.
Her body was airlifted to Magura in an army helicopter amid widescale protests. A mob of locals stormed the house of the suspect in Magura and set it ablaze, while thousands gathered at a public square for her namaz-e-janaza, the final prayer before burial.
“I thought my daughter would survive,” the victim’s mother told reporters. “If she had made it through, I would never have let her go anywhere alone again.”
The victim’s 18-year-old sister told the Daily Star that the family was still in shock, and were still processing her death. “My mother hasn’t stopped crying yet,” she said.
Students in Dhaka University held a protest march and an absentee funeral for the child even after the police banned protests at key locations in the capital to “maintain public order”. The students, however, are determined to continue their protests.
“Bangladesh needs better laws for the safety of women and children. We need clarity on the legal definition of rape. We need swift justice for the victims and not endless trials,” Rita Das, a student at the university, told The Independent. Bangladesh still follows a colonial-era law which limits the definition of rape to apply only to penile-vaginal penetration.
Others blamed the new Muhammad Yunus administration of falling short in providing adequate security to women and children and rein in rising incidents of crime in Bangladesh. “Ever since the July protests, crime has shot up in Bangladesh. There is just not enough security for children, women or men. It seems the law enforcement authorities have taken a step back. They should be more proactive while the nation recovers from last year’s violence,” said a 19-year-old student, who didn’t want to be named.
As well as the victim’s sister’s father-in-law, police have arrested the sister’s mother-in-law, husband and brother-in-law and remanded them in custody. The sister’s father-in law, Hitu Sheikh, confessed to assaulting and raping the child in his house after finding her alone in a room, a senior Magura police officer told The Independent, without adding further details.
Mr Sheikh was produced before the senior judicial magistrate on Saturday afternoon, the officer said.
The victim’s mother, in her police complaint, alleged that the girl was raped on the night of 5 March while she was visiting her elder sister’s house. The elder sister alleged that the victim said Sheikh abducted her to an empty room, where she was raped and assaulted as she tried to scream for help, the Daily Star reported.
The sister was assaulted by her husband, who also threatened to kill the child, when she tried to inform her mother about the incident, according to the police complaint.
Dr Yunus, who heads the interim government, expressed grief over the child’s death and ordered that the accused be brought to justice quickly. Home adviser Lt Gen Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said those guilty of violence against women or rape would be “brought to book”.
Reports of horrific sexual assaults on women have become familiar in Bangladesh, with over 5,632 reports of rape of girls aged below 18 made across the country in the last 10 years, according to human rights group Ain o Salish Kendra. At least 52 children were raped in the first two months of this year, the group said.
Activists say many incidents of sexual assault in Bangladesh go unreported because of fear of being stigmatised, as well as a culture of impunity and protection of suspects by influential individuals for political reasons.
Dhaka metropolitan police commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali, one of the country’s most senior police officers, called on the media to stop using the word “rape” amid the public outcry over the Magura incident, saying he found it “unpleasant”. He suggested reports refer to “violence against women” or “repression of women” instead.
Dr Yunu’s law adviser Asif Nazrul this week said existing legislation related to sexual abuse of women would be amended to reduce the investigation time from 30 days to 15 days. The trial for rape cases will be completed within 90 days instead of the previous 180 days, he said.
“The government has taken all necessary steps swiftly. There has been no negligence on the part of the authorities,” he told reporters.