MISCREANTS attacked a youth in Manikganj for allegedly protesting harassment of his sister on last Saturday evening. In the latest incident, another girl studying in fifth grade was also allegedly raped by a man in Karimganj upazila of Kishoreganj on Saturday.
It is astonishing that we are living in a society where offenders don’t hesitate for a single moment to violate laws as rules of law are largely absent. In Bangladesh, the existence of rules of laws is in serious crisis while law enforcers and politicians remain intertwined for protecting the offenders. It is unfortunate that laws are now protecting the criminals in many ways when law enforcers are their assistants. Here, the innocents hardly get justice. Aftermath of Nusrat murder when the nation is waking up for demanding justice for sexual harassment against women, the Manikganj incident shows the offenders are careless to the law as the sure impunity is waiting for them or their political blessing is considered to stronger.
News media reported that the victim Shariful and his sister went to have coffee at a nearby restaurant where one Nabin tried to hug her. As Shariful protested against this, Nabin made vulgar comments and also tried to beat Shariful. At one stage, Shariful slapped Nabin and left the spot. Later Nabin along with a cohort attacked Shariful, leaving him injured. The incident is not an isolated one but a case of hundreds of thousands such incidents when women become subject to eve-teasing, sexual harassment, rape, gang-rape and murder. We see the authorities have failed to ensure safety for women in and out of residence though they claim its success in achieving gender parity in educational institutions and women empowerment.
According to Ain O Salish Kendra, 18 women were sexually harassed in one month – January to February this year. Of them, one was killed. We see, the women and children have become subject to sexual harassment everywhere — in office, industry, school-college or university, public transports. Enforcement of laws can effectively reduce sexual violence, while religious and social values can check the evil. But proper implementation of law in this regard is not up to the mark.
