Make sure the
rapists are not spared
The rape of two
minor girls from the Tripura community in Lama upazila, Bandarban where the
crimes were committed, is a reminder of how vulnerable young girls,
particularly from indigenous communities, are in the region. In July
nine-year-old Kirtika Tripura Purna was brutally murdered after rape, her body
left in the forest. In January two Marma girls were sexually assaulted, one of
them was raped. According to news reports there have been many other cases of
violent crimes against girls and women of different indigenous communities.
In the latest
incident two members of the Border Guard Bangladesh have been accused with
another member allegedly abetting the crime. The allegations have been denied
by the BGB. We expect that a thorough, proper investigation will reveal the
culprits.
What is baffling
though is why reporters and NGO officials were not allowed access to the
hospital where the two girls are being treated. According to a report in this
daily, rights activists and community organisers, the girls were being confined
by the police at the hospital. Apparently this is because members of security
forces who have been accused in the case are being investigated. But denying
access to the victims only serves to raise questions in the public mind.
Reports of rape
from all over the country are published almost every day and in most cases the
rapists get away with their crimes because of legal loopholes and because they
are connected to the influential and powerful in the community. In the case of
indigenous women and girls, the situation is even direr as they are from
marginalised communities.
We urge the
government to ensure a thorough investigation into this latest case of sexual
violence against two minors and that the rapists, no matter which organisation
or group they belong to, are meted out exemplary punishment. Only then can we
hope that these heinous crimes against women and girls of indigenous
communities will stop.
Courtesy: The
Daily Star Editorial: Aug 26, 2018
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