Bangladesh’s cabinet on Monday approved reforms to increase the maximum sentence for convicted rapists from life imprisonment to death, according to the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangad.
The new provision will come into force after it is signed by Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid. Step a is considered formality.
According to the BSS, Law Minister Anisul Hooke said, “Certainly (the law) will be a deterrent to such notorious crimes while we will make every effort to expedite the process of hearing rape cases in the respective courts.”
Meenakshi Ganguly, director of Human Rights and Watch Chana South Asia, said in a statement last week that “the government’s failure to address the recurring rape and sexual assault of Bangladeshi women has been substantial.”
“The empty promises of the protesters and the call of the activists need to be finally heeded by the Bangladesh government to take meaningful steps to fight sexual violence and support the survivors.”
The new sentence is unlikely to be widely applied; According to Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh has a very low conviction rate for rape, and victims face numerous difficulties in reporting sexual offenses and prosecuting alleged assailants.
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