Rape: a deprivation of women's rights in Bangladesh
RIS ID
94800
Link to publisher version (URL)
Abstract
Article 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh provides that no person shall be deprived of life and personal liberty save in accordance with law. The current judicial practice has begun to link the right to life with human dignity, moving well beyond a mere existence. Physical and emotional assaults which occur in incidents of rape clearly violate that dignity. In Bangladesh, a number of statutes are in place to deter rape with stringent punishment such as imprisonment for life and death sentence. Notwithstanding these, laws seem to have little impact in preventing rape. Every day, about 10 women on average are violated, many of them as young as six years of age. According to a recent study, in one Union (Lower Administrative Unit) under the Division of Chittagong, about 500 women were raped in one month. It is further disturbing to observe that the offenders photographed and videotaped the victim when being gang raped and later marketed those.
Publication Details
Begum, A. (2004). Rape: a deprivation of women's rights in Bangladesh. Asia-Pacific Journal on Human rights and the law, 1 1-48.