Sumaiya Ritu
Rape is not only a vicious and barbarous crime, but a great sin indeed. A women’s dignity is no joke. What we understand by the word “rape” in black and white is that, it is an unlawful sexual activity carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will. But in reality it is much more than that. It not only causes physical harm, but also makes a deep scar on the memory of a victim, which may prick the person for the rest of her life. Unfortunately rape in Bangladesh has increased in such an alarming rate that it is nearly out of control.
A report of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad said that, about 942 women were raped from January to December in 2018 and the total numbers of violence against women were 3918. The Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) in one of their reports said that, at least 164 children were raped in the first quarter of 2019. The report indicates that at least 496 children were, raped in the first six months of the year, with a minimum 82 victims per month. In 2020, the rate only fueled up. Recently a six year old girl has been raped and strangled to death by her neighbor in Chuadanga. In Chittagong police arrested a three-wheeler driver for reportedly abducting and raping, an S.S.C examinee. A lot of similar notorious cases have taken place.
The rape incident of a student of Dhaka University, created a storm of criticize and public grudges. Considering the ghastly situation, recently some members of the Bangladesh Parliament, demanded that law enforcement agencies should kill rapists by extra-judicial means, in other words, “crossfire”. Crossfire refers to the act, where it is claimed that, the death of the accused persons are the result of law enforcing officers, acting in self-defense.
Jatiya party lawmaker Mujibul Haque Chunnu initiated this issue on January14, 2019. Agreeing with Chunnu, Awami League M.P, Tofayel Ahmed said that, “The person who has committed rape has no right to stay alive anymore.”
Reasons behind the proposal:
One of the most important reasons is the culture of Impunity. We have strict laws in Bangladesh, but there’s no implementation. Only 5 offenders have been punished against 1283 rape cases, resolved from 2011 to 2018, according to a research by a non-governmental organization Naripakkha.
There’s another reason behind such proposal, as it is very much seen that the current justice system is too slow to give any solution. About 3.5 million cases are pending. So, it results in frustration while seeking justice in court. There’s a legal maxim which says, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” It is unfair for the injured party to have to sustain injury with little hope for resolution.
Why Crossfire is Not a Solution:
For some particular persons it may have seemed as a perfect solution, but we must not blind ourselves from the long term effect of such extra judicial act, which may cause a constant risk and fear for life among the citizens.
Every human being has a right to get justice, but that doesn’t mean that we have to adopt an unreasonable, unethical way to ensure it. The justice must be brought on light, through the systematic legal framework. Extra judicial killing not only diminishes human rights, but also violates the basic structure of the Bangladesh constitution.
According to Article 32 of the Constitution of People’s Republic of Bangladesh, no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty in accordance with law.” Article 35 says that, “Every person accused of a criminal offence shall have right to a speedy and public trial by an independent and impartial court or tribunal established by law.”
So, it is clearly mentioned in the constitution that nobody can be punished without a fair trial. That is why extra judicial killing is absolutely unconstitutional. Article 14 of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966) which was ratified by Bangladesh in 5th September, 2000 also ensures that every human being has the inherent right to life and that this right should be protected by law and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh said to The Business Standard (TBS), that, “Proposing such illegal actions in the parliament is the ultimate violation of the parliaments members oath. The reasons are many behind rapists not getting punished. The aim should be solving the problems in the system, not promoting an illegal method, like crossfire. ”
What will be the consequence of Extra Judicial killing?
The principle “Presumption of Innocence” refers to the meaning that, one is considered innocent until proven guilty. It is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial and it is a human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1966. So, when an extra judicial killing shall take place, the accused shall not be put on trial, so such human right will be automatically violated.
Extra judicial power shall make the law enforcing agencies vulnerable. There is a huge possibility that the law enforcing agencies shall use such power to harass many innocent people, also many political person can use such acts to carry out their ill-interests. The life of the citizens shall face a great danger as there will be nothing to do in such case.
Also, the decision taken in support of extra judicial killing resembles the deterrence theory. Deterrence is the act of punishing individual in such cruel manner, so that others do not do the same. But when the punishment is too cruel in that case, criminals become careless, public starts to feel sympathetic towards the criminal more than the victim, there’s a huge possibility that people will become rebellious. As an example, we can recall the incident of the extra judicial killing of Teknaf Municipality Ward Councilor accused for drug dealing in 2018, became a matter of great concern that people are not safe.
The faith and respect for legal system shall decrease at a great level and other types of crimes shall alarmingly increase without any doubt.
What can be the solution?
- There are so many strict laws regarding rape and abasement against women. Such laws must be enforced strongly.
- Speedy trials in courts must be conducted. As there’s possibility of delayed trials, the criminals have a huge chance to escape and justice is not ensured.
- The legal environment shall be made victim friendly. There is a tendency to accuse the victim in case of rape , that’s why the victim often feel scared to even approach for seeking justice. As a result, the criminals are becoming more and more courageous and dangerous for society.
- Witness protection system must be elevated.
- Awareness against rape, abuse and its consequences must be spread among people, so that they can prevent such heinous crime.
- Law enforcing agencies must be made oblige to do their duties with honesty, so that the criminals can be caught in no delay.
- Establish zero tolerance policies against sexual harassment.
Conclusion:
The law enforcing departments facing a continuous failure to ensure justice in humane way, rather to hide their lack of success, they are trying to provide an unreasonable alternative. If this is the solution they are seeking, then there will be no need of judicial courts in Bangladesh. So, government must ensure so that the law enforcing agencies, courts, and authorities does their duty properly. If crossfire is legalized, that will create more chaos than peace.
Writer:
Sumaiya Sultana Ritu, Student, Department of Land Management and Law, Jagannath University.
Endnote:
- Taqbir Huda, Why crossfire will not solve our rape problem, The Daily Star, published on 17th January, 2020.
- How did we get to this point, The Daily Star Editorial, published on 16th January, 2020.
- Mehedi Al-Amin, Only 3% convicted for rape in Bangladesh, Dhaka Tribune, published on 26th November, 2019.
- Dhaka Tribune, Latest news update from Rape victims in Bangladesh, published on 19th February, 2020.
- UN Women, 16 ways you can stand up against rape culture, published on 18th November, 2020, https://www.medium.com/@UN-Women/.
- 731 Women Raped in 6Months, report by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, published on 8th July, 2019.
- Faysal Mahmud, Bangladeshi Lawmakers want extrajudicial killings, Asia Times, published on 20th January, 2020.
- Tamashree Das, Crossfire can be no solution – The Business Standard, published on 16th January, 2020, https://www.tbsnews.net/crossfire-can-be-no-solution/.
