The tragic death of an eight-year-old girl who was raped in Bangladesh has ignited fierce protests across the nation. The child succumbed to her injuries on Thursday after being assaulted while visiting her older sister’s home in Magura between the night of March 5 and the following morning, according to a case filed by her mother.
Authorities arrested the 18-year-old husband of the girl’s sister, along with his parents and brother, following the incident.
On Thursday afternoon, the child died after suffering three cardiac arrests at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, where she had been hospitalized for six days. “Although doctors managed to stabilize her condition twice, her heart failed to restart after the third episode,” reported the government’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) department.
In reaction to her death, an angry mob targeted the house where the assault took place, setting it ablaze.
Thousands gathered for the girl’s namaz-e-janaza, the Islamic funeral prayer, in Magura before she was laid to rest, while other gatherings occurred at Dhaka University, featuring protests led by female students. Demonstrators voiced their demands for swift justice for rape victims and called for reforms in laws related to women and children’s safety.
Protesters also stressed the need for clearer legal definitions of rape in Bangladesh, asserting that current laws are ambiguous. Legal advisor Asif Nazrul stated that the trial for the rape and murder case is expected to begin within the next week, noting that DNA sample collection has been completed with results anticipated shortly.
Under a law passed in 2020 following a string of high-profile sexual assault cases, the punishment for the rape of minors is death in Bangladesh.
Sadly, less than a week after the incident in Magura, reports emerged of at least three additional cases of child rape in different regions of Bangladesh. In many instances, the accused were neighbors or relatives of the victims.
Statistics from the Law and Arbitration Center reveal that 3,438 child rape cases have been filed in Bangladesh over the past eight years, with a significant number of victims, including 539 under the age of six and 933 between seven and twelve. Research indicates that most child sexual abuse cases involve perpetrators known to the victims.
Credit: BBC News
