Noman Mosharef :
President Md Abdul Hamid on Tuesday promulgated an ordinance on the amendment to Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Daman Ain (Women and Children Repression Prevention Act), incorporating the provision of capital punishment for rape.
Legislative and parliamentary affairs division of the law ministry also issued a gazette notification to this effect yesterday, saying the ordinance is titled as Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Daman Ain (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
According to the ordinance, “Lifetime Rigorous Imprisonment” mentioned in Section 9(1) of the Act has been replaced by “Death or Lifetime Rigorous Punishment”.
It means the punishment for rape is death penalty or rigorous imprisonment for life.
Lawyers and women’s rights activists welcomed the anti-rape law terming it a step forward for women’s rights in Bangladesh.
They said that the provision of capital punishment for rape would also protect society from the scourge of sexual violence.
Former Law Minister Barrister Shafiq Ahmed greeted the government for amendment of the law for rapist and said, it is laudable that government took an exemplary decision and now it would exe cute the law, and then the rape incident would come down. He said, in the amendment law the government has imposed an obligation to complete the judicial process within a certain time. It is the most important part of the law and should have taken initiative to dispose of the cases due time.
He also condemns the rapists saying they have no humanity.
Eminent Jurist Dr Shahdeen Malik said, “Not one but two death sentences have been added by the new ordinance. This is the fastest imposition of death sentences to legislative measures in the history of our country.
“Death sentences do not deter criminal because already around 15 offences against women and children are punishable with sentences of deaths. Two more death sentences will hardly make any difference.”
Raising question over effectiveness of the new law, veteran women’s rights activist and President of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers Association (BNWLA) advocate Salma Ali said, ‘we never seek capital punishment for offence like rape because such a provision of law does not exist in developed countries. But the government amended the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act-2000 incorporating capital punishment for rapists, as it (govt.) rushed to do so to calm the ongoing anti-rape protest’.
Capital punishment was in previous laws but there was no implementation. It is needs to make the smooth way to ‘access to justice’ of the rape victims.
Death penalty would not be an effective deterrent against rape unless access to justice is ensured. Even the conviction rates remain abysmally low.
She said punishments like the death penalty can potentially have a negative impact on the survivor’s access to justice because the offenders may go aggressive in destroy evidences with the help of police and other officials dealing with rape cases.
So, robust laws would in fact have a very limited impact in reducing the crime unless they are accompanied with a change in the attitudes of the police, judiciary, government officers and society. So, we must ensure accountability of police and other officials first to have a positive impact on the law.
The human rights activists also suggested broadening the definition of rape and making the police stations friendly for the victims. Reforms should also be made in evidence act and set up virtual and special courts to deal with rape cases. Interviews of the victims should be taken virtually so that victims can feel easy in providing testimony.
Finally, a social awareness and blocking porno sites can reduce rape and violence against woman in the country, she said.
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad acting president Fauzia Moslem said, no law will work where rapists were getting political and administrative shelter for which the victims and their families were not getting justice.
She said, it is time to take strict steps to stop sexual harassment of women and girls, the government’s zero tolerance policy towards the offences, execution of sentences against such offenders through speedy trial, punishment of the offenders’ patronisers, making elected public representatives accountable for the offences and discussion of the issue in the Jatiya Sangsad as an ’emergency national issue’.
Availability of drugs, unrest in the society, misuse of information technology, lack of sensitivity towards women, dishonesty and lack of accountability of the administrative institutions concerned were obstacles to getting justice for victims of rape and sexual harassment, she added.
She also demanded formation of a commission to stop rape and violence against women.
Veteran women activist and Bangladesh Mahila Parishad’s general secretary Maleka Banu said that where the rape victim did not gate justice, there changes of law wouldn’t bring any result.
She said, the movements over rape are continuing. Government has amended the law to show that they have done an important work. When life imprisonment was punishment for rape how many rapists have been punished?
She said, nothing will change if the law remains on paper. We want implementation the new law.
We had been shouting for long time to the government to follow ‘Zero tolerance policy’ about rape, she added.
