“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.”
– Diane Mariechild
Introduction
‘Rape’ can be defined as, “sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud or at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped or is of unsound mental health and in any case if she is under the age of 18”. Nowadays, it is frequent news. We can see at least one rape incident news in our dailies per day which is very shameful for us. The occurrences of sexual harassment among working women, children, students and home maids are increasing day by day. Not only at night but also in the daytime, a lot of women are being harassed in the streets. School going students are not safe even in the safe environment of the school. According to experts, the situation will not change if the resistance is not prevented. To ensure women’s human right and development in a broader community, we need to overcome this situation. Otherwise, women will need to be restricted to four walls.
There are four classifications in rape-
1) Rape, 2) Gang Rape, 3) Murder After Rape, and 4) Marital Rape.
There are various laws for women against violence, like- Constitutional laws, Nari-O-Shishu Nirzaton Daman Ain, 2000, Penal Code,1860, Evidence Act,1872, Criminal Procedure,1898.
Bangladesh Case Analysis
In the recent scenario, rape and gang rape cases are prevalent, which is a matter of consideration. In a recent case, a homeless minor girl was raped by three young persons in Kuala at 2:30 am. She was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College after the incident at 5:00 am.[1] In the case of Al Amin vs The State (1999), it was mentioned that “Rape for a woman whether major or minor is a deathless shame and must be dealt with as the gravest crime against human dignity.” In Gazipur gang rape case, three bus staffers confess, they were Amir Hossain (27), Amit Shil (22), and Mozammel (23). On February 12, at midnight, the victim and another woman boarded the bus from Tongi to go to Gazipur. Near Bhogra intersection on the road, the other passengers were dropped, leaving the two women alone. They tried to get off the bus, but the staffers closed the door and tied up the older women and violated the other, and gave the threat to kill if they protested.[2] In the case of Bhola gang rape, coast guard member arrested five people and rescued the girl from a trawler who was raped.[3] And In Narayanganj, a case of gang rape has been filed. Farzana, who was the friend of the victim called the victim, then Farzana’s husband along with two other people, raped that girl.[4] There is also a recent case of Dhaka university student rape case in Dhaka.[5] She was raped while she was going home from her friend’s house at 10:00 pm. Later she was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. There are also some Indian unsolved rape cases.
Indian Case Analysis:
According to BBC news, in India, the 23-year-old died after suffering from cardiac attack at a Delhi hospital. She had 90% burns. She was attacked as she was walking to a hearing in the rape case, she filed against two men in March at Unnao, in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Five men, including the alleged rapists, have been arrested, Indian police say. The sister of the victim, whose name has not been released, told the BBC that she wanted the death penalty for the pair. She said the family would continue to fight the case against them in court. Rape and sexual violence against women have been in focus in India since December 2012 gang-rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital, Delhi.[6] But there has been no sign that crimes against women are abating. According to government figures, police registered 33,658 cases of rape in India in 2017, an average of 92 rapes every day.
In another Case, Police in India has launched a manhunt after a six-year-old girl was abducted outside her home in Madhya Pradesh state and raped. Police said that the girl had been playing with friends near her home in a village in Damoh district on Wednesday evening when she was abducted. She was found the next morning, unconscious with her hands tied, in an abandoned building in the village. The attacker inflicted severe injuries to the child's eyes, in an apparent attempt to stop her from identifying him.[7]
The ratio of rape cases:
In the case of Fatema Begum vs Aminur Rahman, 2005 it has been determined that “If an unmarried girl testified her modesty in front of the tribunal than it is the dearest work and there is no reason to disbelieve her. Her testimony inspires confidence in our mind, and we fine her testimony reliable.” According to the crime statistics of the Bangladesh Police Headquarters, there were 67 thousand 229 cases of violence against women in the country during the last four years. Around 12 thousand 971 people have been raped. And in this year within the five months from January to May, 211 cases have filed about rape and sexual violence in the country, including the capital.[8] According to a report of NEWAGE Bangladesh, on an average, nearly 13 women and girls were raped in the country every day in the first four months of the year as rape incidents were on the rise. Social scientists, lawyers and field level crime investigators expressed concerns over rising rape incidents and blamed slow criminal justice system, drug addiction and unemployment, among others, for the rise in the heinous crime.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Nasima Begum urged neighbours and citizens to go forward with help if any possible symptoms of rape or molestation are seen in children.
She said: "To help a person in danger is equal to protecting human rights."
"If a teacher becomes a rapist, if close relatives turn rapists, it is difficult to send our children to school and to protect our children from sexual harassment. We should repair our morality to reduce rapes and sexual harassment," she added.[9]
Conclusion and Suggestion
A woman is a valuable asset of a society. In Rehana Begum and another vs State (2011), it has been determined that “Before parting off, we must record that, if in this case of gang rape committed by three fully grown-up men resulting in the death of a helpless teenager, and thereby smashing her person, her dream, her modesty, her dignity, her chastity being regarded as the invaluable and inviolable asset by any women, and when such a crime is committed by the convicts caring the least about the sanction provided for by the prevailing law and caring not at all about any social resistance, as proved by their preplan and conduct, we are surprised to see as to why this case was not treated as a 'rarest of rare cases' and a death sentence was not imposed on these three rapists and their accomplice.” There are many unsolved rape cases in our country. Though there are many existing laws in favour of women, no proper implementations of those laws and also no exemplary punishment has been passed for rape cases which indicates moral degradation. Recently an exemplary sentence has been given in ‘Nirbhaya gang rape’ case after almost ten years executed by the local executives.[10] We also have many cases like ‘Nirbhya Rape Case’. But unfortunately, offenders usually escape easily from punishment in Bangladesh. There are many Nirbhya who are not getting fair justice. There are also many cases which are not yet disclosed. There is a roar in women’s silence. Strict actions and implementation is required against the rapists to provide justice to the women who are deprived of their rights and made a secured nation for women. If we make a secured nation for women, they can break the barriers of limitation and can get prosperity for our country.
Disclaimer: Kindly note that the views and opinions expressed are of the author, and not Law Colloquy.
