At least 800 women were raped in 2017
Advocate, human rights activist and former caretaker government advisor Sultana Kamal said that although Bangladesh has improved in many areas, it is falling behind in addressing human rights issues.
“Violations of human rights now occur so frequently that they are being normalized in our society” she said.
She made the remarks during the inauguration of the Manobadhikar Sanskriti Foundation (MSF) at the National Press Club on Thursday morning.
During her speech, she also said that violence against women is very frequent, despite the progress made by Bangladesh to ensure women’s rights.
“Women are subjected to torture, harassment and other forms of violence everywhere, including their workplace, home and educational institutions. 87 out of every 100 women are being subjected to some kind of violence in their family,” she said.
Referring to a report from a human rights organization, she said that at least 800 women were raped in 2017.
“The statistics from One Stop Crisis Center is horrifying, which says that more than 2,000 women were victims of physical and sexual violence. Risha, Tonu, Rakib, Sagor, Rupa are just a few names among the many we know, yet none of them have received justice yet.”
Sultana Kamal added that there were over 1,500 cases of child abuse, murders and violence in 2017.
She said that people in Bangladesh are concerned about the recent rise in enforced disappearance cases.
Regarding extrajudicial killings, the former advisor to the Caretaker Government said that “crossfires” were killing at least one or two people every day.
She continued: “Although the government claims these things have stopped, but in 2017, there were 151 cases of extrajudicial killings. These human rights violations are not acceptable.”
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
