Protesters demand speedy trial for rape cases

Protesters at Dhaka University Teachers' Association (DUTA), on Thursday demanded speedy trials of rape cases.

Speaking at a human chain program against violence, rape and torture of women, organised by DUTA, they also demanded capital punishment to be imposed as the highest punishment for rapists, instead of life imprisonment.

Moreover, they want moral lessons to be included in the academic syllabus at schools. They said children should learn those lessons from school.

"Violence and rape are on the rise in Bangladesh, at a time when the whole world is coming together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic," said Professor Lutfar Rahman, vice-president at DUTA.

"A vested quarter of the population is doing these crimes. Although they are small in number, they can commit such crimes with impunity by being politically and financially powerful," he added.

He suggested that exemplary punishment of culprits is needed to reduce such crimes.

He said, law enforcers are impeding recent protest movements across the country.

"This kind of protest should not be disrupted. The government should accept the logical demands of the protesters to stop the movement," he said.

The protest movement on Thursday also continued in Shahbag through a platform named 'Bangladesh against rape and injustice'.

Activists of the platform demanded the resignation of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. They also asked for concerned laws to be amended and immediately implemented.

They further demanded trial of rape cases to completed within 80 days and also called on political parties not to shelter the culprits.

Mukta Barai, an organiser of the protest, said the trending culture of impunity encourages offenders to commit more offences in the future.

"We want punishment for all rapists, irrespective of who he is. We want safety for women everywhere in the country," she added.