How medical evidence is used to discredit rape complainants
The need for corroborative or medical evidence to prove rape (and therefore these two rules) violates the global standards set by the UN and the WHO.
1y ago
A company’s negligence killed 44 people. What price will it pay?
Another brutal reminder that worker safety is last on our list of priorities for our progressive and developing country.
2y ago
National Legal Aid Day: Three ways to improve our national legal aid system
Today marks the National Legal Aid Day, which was introduced by the government in January 2013, in an effort to increase public awareness of national legal aid services.
2y ago
Where is our independent prosecution service?
Although we frequently hear calls for justice whenever a grievous crime takes place, the role of public prosecutors, i.e. the very individuals who conduct criminal cases in court on behalf of the state, is seldom—if ever—discussed.
2y ago
Where can domestic violence survivors actually go?
On this year’s International Women’s Day, which is being celebrated across Bangladesh and with much grandiosity in Dhaka, I want us all to think of Yasmin Ara, a young woman from Satkhira, who has been thrown out of her home by her mother-in-law a few months after losing her husband.
2y ago
We need a state compensation fund for victims of violent crime
Whenever a violent crime like gang rape or custodial torture takes place, we are quick to demand justice for it.
2y ago
How the Banani rape verdict exposes the rape culture in our courtrooms
On November 11, 2021, Mosammat Kamrunnahar, judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 7 in Dhaka, reportedly asked the police “to refrain from receiving a case if a rape victim comes to the police station after 72 hours of the incident” since “semen cannot be traced after 72 hours.”
3y ago
Three months after the Hashem factory fire, has there been any ‘justice’?
Today, October 8, marks three months since the deadly Hashem Foods fire, which claimed the lives of at least 54 people. Out of those killed, at least 17 were children. Out of these 17 children, at least 11 were girls.
3y ago
November 1, 2019
What legal action can a male rape victim take?
On August 19, 2019, Jamir Ullah*, a 45-year-old father of one based in Sreepur, hanged himself from a beam off the balcony of his home after being gang raped by 10 men.
June 27, 2019
Sexual harassment and the law: Where’s the problem?
Since its inception in 2017, the #MeToo Movement has been spreading across the world; it has brought to the fore the grave extent to which women from all strata of society face sexual harassment in their daily lives.
April 20, 2019
Why our religious leaders must condemn Nusrat's murder
Any Bangladeshi with an iota of humanity should still have their conscience reeling over the heinous murder of Nusrat, the brave girl
March 25, 2019
Remembering the barbarities of Operation Searchlight
On the fateful night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistani army officially launched its campaign of genocide in erstwhile East Pakistan, by unleashing death squads that mercilessly killed 7,000 unarmed, innocent Bengalis in one single night.
March 15, 2019
State liability to pay compensation for rape: A necessary ruling
On March 10, 2019, the High Court issued a rule demanding the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and other concerned authorities to explain why they should not be ordered to pay compensation of Tk 50 lakhs to a young woman who had been raped by two police officers in Manikganj earlier in February.
February 14, 2019
Why I do not support the killing of 'rapists' by 'Hercules'
Recently, the bodies of three "rapists" have been found shot to death with culpatory notes hanging around their necks. On January 17, the first body was found by the police in Savar,
February 9, 2019
Compensation is a matter of right, not sympathy
On January 25, 2019, a coal laden truck flipped over and crushed a makeshift workers' shed in a Comilla brick kiln factory, killing 13 people and injuring five others.
November 10, 2018
The problem with the Road Transport Act
Much controversy surrounds the new Road Transport Act 2018 which has been the subject of massive protests by road transport workers who perceive the new law to be unduly harsh on them.
September 25, 2018
Women-only bus is not the solution
Early in June this year, a women-only bus service named Dolonchapa was launched by Rangs Group in Dhaka with a view to giving women a “safer” and “easier” travel option (The Daily Star).
August 7, 2018
Judicial activism for constitutional torts
On 9 August 2018, the Appellate Division upheld a High Court verdict that ordered Bangladesh Railway and Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence to pay Tk 10 lakh each as compensation to the parents of Zihad, a four-year boy who died after falling into a shaft.
X