Parents arrested, protests across the country to change laws
The death of an 8 -year -old girl following a ferocious rape for which some relatives are investigated has aroused anger and dismay in Bangladesh, with square protests where tens of thousands of people have asked for a revision of the rules on sexual violence. Local newspapers and some international newspapers report it, including the BBC.
The girl was raped while visiting the home of the older sister in the city of Magura on the night between March 5 and March 6, according to the complaint filed by the mother. He would have been subtracted by his sister’s bed while sleeping, and found after many hours in very serious condition. He died yesterday at the military hospital of Dacca after a few days of agony and three heart arrests. The police arrested his eighteen year old husband of his older sister, together with his parents and brother. They are in pre -trial detention pending the trial that will take place shortly for direct.
Last night, after learning the news of the girl’s death, a railway poured to the house where the fact occurred and set fire to her. It was then asked to build a refuge for mistreated women in its place but above all the government is asked to accelerate justice for the rape victims and to reform the laws relating to the safety of women and children.
The demonstrators also asked for greater clarity on the legal definitions of what constitutes rape in Bangladesh, which affirm to be currently ambiguous. The protests are extending to splashing and manifestations have also been held in the capital Dacca.
The rape of minors is punishable with the death in Bangladesh, according to a law approved in 2020 following a series of cases of high profile sexual violence, including a brutal group aggression on a 37 -year -old woman, filmed and widespread on social media. Less than a week after the girl rape in Magura, reports emerged in the media of at least three rapes of children more or less of the same age in different parts of Bangladesh. In some cases the accused were close to the victim’s house, while others were close relatives.
According to the statistics of the Law and Arbitration Center, 3,438 cases of rape on minors have been reported in Bangladesh in the last eight years but the rape victims would be many more. At least 539 of them are under six years and 933 are aged between seven and twelve. Research has shown that, in most cases, children are sexually or raped by people they know.
