Rajshahi court observes social system responsible for sexual offences

A court in Rajshahi Tuesday observed that the main reason behind sexual offences against women in Bangladesh is its social system where victims of sexual crimes are blamed more than the criminals. While delivering judgement into a case of sexual offence in Bogura district’s Kahalu upazila of January 2017, Md Ziaur Rahman, judge of the Cyber Tribunal, Rajshahi made the observation, Ismat Ara public prosecutor of the court said. “The society smears her (victim of sexual offences) in such a way that it is as if she had committed the crime,” the court observed and continued to read, “Our system makes the victim think that such a crime happened because of her roles.” In the judgement, the court wrote, the victims of sexual crimes face various discriminations and social injustices, and they become cornered in their societies and even in their own families. The court showed highest honour to the victim in the Bogura case to set an example, the public prosecutor said. The court gave the victim a pseudo name Kolpo for conducting the case proceedings, she said. In addition, the court decided not to bring her in the court for her witness’s description and depended on other prosecution witnesses during the trial, she said. In the judgement, the judge wrote, the best interest of the victim in context of the country’s social system is to keep the victim's identity a secret. The court observed Bangladesh is in a backward position compared to developed countries in ensuring women's empowerment and freedom.

Citing examples of Britain and India, the judge wrote in the judgement that Bangladesh has also similar law to protect victim’s identity, but, disclosure of victim’s identity is recurring even by some newspapers and online portals. The judge wrote, some newspapers do not mention the victim’s name, but give descriptions in such a way that becomes easy for interested groups to identify the victims. In the judgement, the judge wrote, “We dream of a society where both men and women will live a dignified life without discrimination. But some men are behaving with women like commodities without showing due respect”. The Bogura victim was also treated in the same way. The victim Kolpo while studying in a university, married a man Golam Rosul, 34, of Kahalu upazila and kept her marriage a secret to her family. Ten days later when she learnt that he had a first wife and children, she divorced him. Since the divorce, Golam Rosul kept on insisting Kolpo to go back to him and threatened her of publishing her secret photographs on the internet. On January 24, 2017, Kolpo’s father discovered an envelope carrying his daughter’s secret photograph on his doorstep. He learnt his neighbours got similar envelopes. Two days later when her father filed a case with Kahalu police station, the police arrested Golam Rosul and seized similar photographs from his possession. Police pressed charges in the case against Golam Rosul under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act of 2006 on April 14, 2017. In the meantime, Golam Rosul was granted bail by the High Court and became a fugitive by never appearing before the court. The court framed charges against him in his absence on November 1, 2018. Completing trial of the case, the court yesterday convicted Golam Rosul for the charges and gave him ten years of rigorous imprisonment. The accused was also fined with Tk five lakh and in default to pay the fine, he would suffer six months more in jail. In case he pays the fine, the fine money would be given to the victim as compensation, the judgement says.