International Women’s Day highlights progress, but safety remains a crisis in Bangladesh. Weak law enforcement, victim-blaming, and moral policing enable violence. Real change demands stronger laws, faster justice, safer spaces, and an end to impunity for harassers.
Police should use technology to track down all the accused
Perpetrators of Mohammadpur rape must not be able to get away
A Spanish court on Thursday sentenced former Brazil international Dani Alves to four and a half years in prison after finding him guilty of raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
That justice for rape survivors is a mirage in this country is no news, with a miserable conviction rate of three percent in rape cases.
The 32-year-old batsman was arrested in November last year just hours after his country lost to England in their final Twenty20 World Cup match in Australia.
This case is yet another tragic example of how unsafe this country is for women.
Despite unwavering support from her counterparts and from political offices as high up as the Spanish prime minister’s, Hermoso’s words have resulted in the same inaction from authorities.
Prosecutors at Spain's top criminal court said Monday they had opened a preliminary investigation into Luis Rubiales' forcible kiss on the lips of World Cup player Jenni Hermoso on grounds it could constitute a crime of "sexual assault".
Mohammadpur Preparatory School closed till May 25 and its vice principal discharged in face of protests over sexual harassment of a minor student.
This is not common in countries where the law enforcement machinery is handicapped by a serious gap in training and education in professionalism, human rights, and behaviour.
In a society where violence against women in private and public spaces goes unpunished, is it any wonder that sexual harassment in the cyber domain continues to be firewalled?
In a one-to-one conversation with The Daily Star, Bangladesh Chhatra Union activist Ismat Jahan Joe tells of her account of the day when students were thrashed away by cops while trying to lay a siege to Dhaka police headquarters protesting the April 14 sexual assault on women.
In the last few weeks, there seemed to form a large divide between people, both offline and online.
High Court today asks authorities to report by June 14 the action taken against policemen who assaulted demonstrators near Dhaka police headquarters recently.
Writ petition moved with the High Court challenging legality of police brutality on women activists protesting the April 14 sexual assault.
When cops swooped on the protesters, it only reflected the government’s and the administration’s indifferent attitude towards the Pahela Baishakh sexual assault. We were shocked because we as civilized human beings expected rational reaction from the authorities. We should not have.
Leaders and activists of different socio-political organisations besiege the office of Dhaka University Vice Chancellor protesting the authorities’ dillydallying role to punish the culprits involved in sexual assault against women during Pahela Baishakh celebrations.
Ridiculous myths that attempt to justify sickening acts of sexual violence against women need to be addressed.
