Violence against women and children increasing

I was shocked to read about the killing of a girl by a teacher in Rangamati. The murderer had killed the girl who was studying in class three after he had failed to rape her.

In fact, the incidents of killings, rape, torture and other forms of violence against women and children seem to be increasing with every passing day.

A report published in the Financial Express on February 04 mentioned that only in January of this year, as many as 52 women were raped, 22 gang-raped and five murdered after rape across the country. The statistics revealed in a report of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) mentioned that a total of 298 incidents of violence against women took place during the same period. In 2018, a total of 3,918 women and children became victims of violence across the country. Some 942 women and children were raped and 182 were gang-raped last year.

Many incidents do not make the dailies as the victims are often from poor backgrounds and their attackers are wealthy and influential.

Nearly 60 per cent of women in Bangladesh face some kind of violence like dowry torture, stalking, rape, mental abuse and sex trafficking, according to human rights promoting organisations. Children are also being targeted.

We need to make our society safe for women and children. This cannot happen simply through the initiative of the government. The civil society, communities and households have important roles to play.

Ayesha Afrin

Uttara, Dhaka