‘Justice, not character certificates’
'Justice denied on grounds of character, for how long?' was the slogan of the women who took to the streets of the capital at midnight on Thursday.
'March to break the shackles' started at 11:59pm on Thursday from Shahbagh, demanding the abolishment of section 155(4) of the Evidence Act-1872. The protestors then assembled in front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and presented their demands.
According to section 155(4) of the Evidence Act-1872, "when a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be shown that the prosecutrix was of generally immoral character."
This essentially means that defence lawyers can introduce character evidence against rape complainants during trial.
Protestors also condemned the acquittal of the five accused, including Shafat Ahmed, son of Dildar Ahmed, co-owner of Apan Jewellers, on the Raintree hotel rape case and the court's recommendation to the police following the verdict.
Begum Mosarrat Kamrunnahar, the judge of the case, instructed the law enforcers that no rape cases should be filed if 72 hours have passed since the incident.
"The court raised questions about the victims' character during the hearing. The state is being allowed to set the parameters of the victim's character by Section 155(4)," said Prapti Taposhi, one of the organisers of the event.
Barrister Sara Hossain, while participating in the procession, said, "We have been demanding the abolishment of this section for many years. Just today a verdict was given, denying justice to the victims, and on top of that, questioning their characters. This is utterly reprehensible."
"Today's verdict speaks volumes on how important it is to abolish section 155(4), the demand that brought us all together," said anthropologist and writer Rahnuma Ahmed.
"This is the 21st century, and it is completely unacceptable for a judge to give a verdict like this, stating the victims had previous sexual experiences. A court is supposed to provide justice, not character certificates," she added.
"If a woman is raped and kept hostage for 72 hours, will the police still not take her case?" asked Rahnuma.
The procession was joined by women across classes and occupations and men as well. Singer-songwriter Krishnkoli, actor Ashna Habib Bhabna, photographer Shahidul Alam, founder of 'Ganashastha Kendra' Zafrullah Chowdhury also joined.
The organisers also arranged a mass signature programme demanding the abolishment of section 155(4) during the demo.
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