Haka, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s cabinet on Monday approved an increase in the maximum sentence in a rape case to life imprisonment.
Cabinet spokesman Khandekar Anwarul Islam said President Abdul Hamid was likely to issue an ordinance amending the Prevention of Repression of Women and Children Act as he was not in Parliament.
Details of the amendment were not immediately available, but Islam said the cabinet agreed to the proposal to expedite hearings in rape cases.
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Among the protesters against gender-based violence is a women’s rights activist holding a placard outside Parliament in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Bangladesh’s cabinet has increased the maximum sentence in rape cases to life imprisonment. A series of recent sexual assaults protested. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Hussain Opu)
Under current law, the maximum sentence in a rape case is life imprisonment, except in cases where the victim dies, while the death penalty is allowed.
Law Minister Anisul Hooke said the president is expected to issue the ordinance on Tuesday.
A series of violent sexual assaults in recent weeks have sparked protests in the capital, Dhaka and elsewhere.
Local human rights groups say rape has increased in the country. The women’s rights group Ain-o-Salish Kendra said there were 889 rapes between January and August, including several gang rapes. At least one victim was killed.
Women’s rights activists and others hold placards outside Parliament in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, protesting against gender-based violence. Bangladesh’s cabinet has approved an increase in the maximum sentence to life imprisonment in a series of rape cases. Demonstrated protests against recent sexual assaults. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Hussain Opu)
Rights groups say many more cases are inconsistent due to fears of harassment by influential people. The judicial system in Bangladesh is very slow and cases take years to complete.
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Protests erupted in recent days after a video of a group of men stripping and attacking a woman in a southeastern district was made public by Facebook. An investigation by the country’s National Human Rights Commission found that the woman in the video had been repeatedly raped and terrorized over the past year.
Women’s rights activists and others hold placards outside Parliament in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, protesting against gender-based violence. Bangladesh’s cabinet has approved increasing the maximum sentence to life imprisonment in a series of rape cases. Demonstrated protests against recent sexual assaults. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Hussain Opu)
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In another case, a woman was pulled from a car into a college dorm where she was traveling with her husband and was gangraped. Several members of the student wing of the ruling Awami League were arrested.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she would bring those responsible to justice.
