To be born poor and a woman!

There is no doubt that we, as a nation, have failed to protect our women and children, as evident by the statistics on rape, murder and other gender-based violence in this country. The magnitude of women's vulnerability once again came to the fore through a recent report in our daily. A woman in Kurigram died by suicide after loan sharks repeatedly gang-raped her over a period of two months, because she failed to repay a loan of Tk 20,000.

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The violence of silencing a rape survivor

That such an incident could take place in a country that boasts of economic growth with a per capita income of $2,650 (approximately Tk 3 lakh) and where loan defaulters, who owe crores of taka, go scot-free, feels like a cruel irony. It is obvious that the fruits of our so-called economic progress did not reach this woman and her family. But what really sealed her fate was her identity as a woman in a country where toxic masculinity reigns supreme and impunity for gender-based violence is commonplace. Consequently, the perpetrators used rape as a weapon to "punish" not just her but her husband, who also ingested poison but survived.

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‘Violence against women is a violation of human rights’

We need to take a long hard look at the nation we have become—one without equity, justice or hope for the poor and vulnerable. All our proud proclamations of economic development and women's empowerment ring hollow against the horrific injustices suffered by the victim. The government must rethink its current priorities; after all, what's the point of development if it is going to leave so many behind? What does it say about our justice system that a woman would rather take her life than seek redress?

We cannot allow this tragedy to become another statistic. The criminals in this particular case must be brought to book quickly and meted out exemplary punishment so that no one dares to commit such crimes again.