The parliamentary body on Women and Children Affairs yesterday placed its final report on the Women and Children Repression Prevention (amendment) Bill 2020 before the House keeping the provision of death penalty for rape.

Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee Meher Afroze Chumki placed the report in parliament yesterday after it was scrutinised by the committee members.

There were no major changes in the bill made by the parliamentary body.

The committee recommended shunning the use of the word dhorshita, the feminine form of the word raped in Bangla, to refer to women who have been raped. "Victim of rape" should be used instead, it said.

The bill proposes amendments to the previous law to incorporate death penalty as the maximum punishment for rape.

According to Article 9 (1) of the existing Women and Children Repression Prevention Act-2000, the maximum punishment for rape is life imprisonment.

This was promulgated through an ordinance on October 13 in the face of popular demands to ensure death penalty for rapists.

The ordinance was placed in parliament on November 8 for its approval by Law Minister Anisul Huq. The bill was also placed there the same day and it was sent to the committee for scrutiny.

The committee was asked to submit its report before the House in seven work days.

The ordinance was issued amid widespread outrage triggered by a viral video footage of a woman being tortured and gang-raped in Noakhali's Begumganj.

At least 975 women were raped across the country in the last nine months and 161 of the incidents took place last month alone, according to a report by rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra.

Several organisations, including Feminists Across Generations, advocated that death penalty was not the solution.

According to the Article 9 (3) of the existing law, if a woman falls victim to gage-rape and gets injured or dies, the punishment is the death penalty or life imprisonment for each rapist.

The latest bill also proposes changes to sub-articles 11 (Ga) and 20 (7) of the existing law.

Any simple injury for dowry will be a compoundable offence (the complainant can drop the charge) in accordance with the article 11 (Ga) of the proposed law.

In the article 20 (7) of the bill, the Children Act, 2013 has been incorporated in place of Children Act, 1974 to follow the latest law as much as possible during the trial of any crime committed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act-2000 in case any child commits or witnesses such crime.

The trial of rape cases shall be completed by 180 days at Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals according to the existing law.