Shawdesh Desk:

The Cabinet has approved draft of amended law proposing death sentence for simple rape in the wake of unbridled violations and sexual harassment of women across the country.

The draft was approved at weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.

Earlier, a person accused of simple rape was punished by life imprisonment as per previous law.

The government is set to introduce capital punishment for rapists by amending law, as the recent spate of sexual violence against women has triggered a countrywide public outcry for the death penalty of offenders.

To this effect, a draft of an amendment to the law was  placed at a weekly cabinet meeting.

The government’s move has come after people burst into street protests against rape, and the Daily Sun published several special news reports and editorials, demanding the death penalty for the rapists.

The Daily Sun published a special report headlined “Rape, sexual harassment go unabated for culture of impunity” on Tuesday and editorial titled “Death penalty for rape is a must” on Thursday.

Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government is actively considering an amendment to law to ensure the death penalty for the rapists.

He disclosed the views while talking to reporters before leaving his residence for his secretariat office on Wednesday morning.

The violation of a housewife by some unruly youths at a hostel of Sylhet MC College followed by the stripping of a woman in Noakhali and videoing the scene sparked bitter criticism at home and abroad.

People from all walks of life have taken to the streets, demanding death sentence for rapists who get off scot-free through legal loopholes.

The demand has gained ground as a group of legal experts are stressing the need for an amendment to law to make rapists punishable with death.

“Law is enacted for the public welfare. As people have a demand for the death penalty of rapists, the government is considering the issue with utmost importance,” said the law minister.

In Bangladesh, only 3 percent cases related to violence against women and children see conviction, as reported by Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal from five districts last year.

The report was disclosed at a national dialogue on action against sexual violence” and the inauguration of “16  days of activism against gender-based violence” held at a city hotel on November 18, 2019.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the United Nations in Bangladesh jointly organised the event.

Talking to the Daily Sun, Ehsanul Hoque Samaji, former Public Prosecutor of Metropolitan Sessions Court and Anti-Corruption Commission, said the accused get off scot-free for imperfect investigation reports, lack of evidence, a delay in medical reports and faulty statements by the victims.