Jamaat's women chapter for public hangings of rapists

The women's chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami organised a human chain in front of the National Press Club today, to protest against the brutal assault on eight-year-old Magura rape victim and to press their demands for stringent measures to combat rape across the country.

The participants held placards and banners, and shouted slogans demanding public hanging of rapists and women's right to live in safety.

During the programme, Jamaat-e-Islami's women's unit secretary, Professor Nurunnisa Siddika, demanded that the verdict in the murder case of the eight-year-old be delivered within a week. Siddika further demanded that the accused be given the death penalty. She also emphasized that all rapists be hanged.

She stated, "The law must be enforced properly. The lengthy trial process should be avoided, and the culture of impunity must be done away with. The provision of imprisonment in rape cases should be abolished, and only the death penalty (hanging) should be imposed. The reason rape has not been eradicated from society is because rapists have evaded justice through legal loopholes for far too long."

She continued, "The interim government must resolve rape cases within 90 days and follow through on its announcement to abolish the bail provision. We demand immediate implementation of this commitment. The child was not only raped but also murdered, and those responsible must be tried according to the government's announcement and our demands. If this is not done, women's groups will take to the streets in a powerful movement."

Advocate Sabikunnahar Munni, a member of the central working committee of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, remarked, "Before any state reform, the moral reform of the people is essential. Political party reforms are also necessary. Without breaking free from the culture of criminals being shielded under political protection, the benefits of state reform will never be realized."

Referring to the statistics of Ain O Salish Kendro that there have been 3,500 child rape cases over the past 8 years, yet none of them have been tried, Nazmun Nahar Nilu, another member of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Central Working Committee, stated, "Our society is lacking in values and morality, and we can no longer remain silent. There is no moral foundation within our education system. The collapse of the education system has led to the deterioration of society. I demand that all rape cases be addressed under the speedy trial law, and that rapists be sentenced to hang."

Their demands include Magura rape victim's the trial within a week awarding the death penalty, death sentence for rapists, cases of murder and rape be resolved within a month, introduction of Islamic education system instilling Islamic social values; implementation of Quranic laws to reduce crimes of rape and murder.