Nayem Ashraf, latest arrestee of the sensational ‘Banani double rape case’, has admitted his involvement in the crime, said the law enforcing authorities on Thursday. Nayem is the fifth suspect arrested in the high-profile case in Bangladesh. The four others arrested so far are Safat Ahmed, the son of an owner of renowned jewelry shop Apan Jewellers, Safat’s friend Shadman Sakif, the son of Regman Group co-owner Mohammad Hossain Jony, and Safat’s driver ‘Billal’ and bodyguard Rahmat Ali. In reply to widespread talks about the influence of the arrestees’ respective families, Monirul Islam, deputy inspector general of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said, “Everyone is equal to the eye of the law”. Two university students came forth last month with allegations of rape against the accused five. They alleged that they were repeatedly and brutally raped at The Rain Tree Hotel in Dhaka’s Banani area on March 28 as they went there to attend the birthday party of one of the main accused Safat Ahmed.
Comment:
No matter what the police say about so called justice, the people of Bangladesh know the reality on the ground. The culture of injustice is so widespread in the country that no one ever thinks of getting justice, especially when the perpetrators are from influential or powerful family background. Harassments of the raped victims by the police officers are not unknown to anyone. It is so humiliating for a woman to file a case against sexual abuse that most of the victims prefer to be silent just not to be further humiliated. Also, it is well known that, in most cases police act in favor of the influential criminals in exchange of money and the victims are denied justice.
In May 6, two private university students came forward to file a rape case in Banani Police Station against Safat Ahmed, Nayem Ashraaf and Shadman Sakif. Among them Safat Ahmed and Shadman Sakif are from very influential background. The officer in charge delayed 48 hours to take the case and did not cooperate with the victims. It was known from an unverified source that the officer in charge has taken BDT 2.5 million from the accused party to work in favour of the victims. In another case, on March 3, the same officer did not cooperate with a garment worker from Karail Slum area, while she has filed a general diary against four influential local youths after she was being sexually harassed by them. The following day the woman was raped by the same youths and till today police did not take any action against the criminals. In April 29, 55-year-old Hazrat jumped in front of a running train with his 8-year-old minor girl in despair, because he was denied justice over an attempt rape against his minor daughter. The list of these kinds of pathetic incidents go on.
In the absence of justice, the incidents of rape became epidemic in recent years. According to the news published in the dailies, in April of this year, 43 female children are raped throughout the country. But, the incidents that come to media are just the tip of the iceberg. The reality is far worse. Even a 2-year-old girl child is not safe in this country. The current government has enforced a law to punish the parents who marry their daughter before 18, but has failed to realize that, the primary reason of child marriage is the widespread insecurity that exists every part of the society.
In a society where women have been turned into a mere sexual commodity, where nudity is encouraged in the mass media, where premarital and illegitimate relationships are justified in the name of personal freedom, free mixing is widespread, accountability is absent and justice is nullified, it is natural that this is a fertile ground for women abuse including brutal rape. Shouldn’t this secular regime be responsible for producing perverted youth like Safat, Sakif and Nayem, when it has made pornography available to young generations, which severely distorted the view towards the woman? Should not the regime take the responsibility of widespread rape within the society when it has failed to give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators and established the culture of injustice? Shouldn’t the notorious dailies like Prothom Alo and The Daily Star be blamed for the dishonor of every single woman, when they call the young generation towards obscenity, lewdness and corrupt values of the West?
After every single incident that catches the media’s attention, the women’s right organizations and the so-called intellectuals of the country demand exemplary punishment of the perpetrators. But, the question is, why does a woman or a girl child have to live in an environment of constant fear? Isn’t it the greatest oppression on woman that a girl child fears her honor might be violated at any point of her life? Isn’t it the hypocrisy of the society, when she was encouraged by this secular society to mix freely with opposite gender and to make relationship outside marriage and praised for displaying her beauty, but later on be blamed when she becomes the helpless victim of these haraam actions? Recently, the news has come to media that, the two victims of this widely discussed case, are already being blamed by the society and are under tremendous social pressure. This society is now pointing fingers at them and raising questions about their character.
The women of the world including the women of Bangladesh should know that there was a time in human history, which not only protected the honor of women, rather made women the honor of the state and that noble state was the Khilafah which truly implemented the rights of women in Islam. It is narrated in Bukhari that the Prophet ﷺ said to ‘Adi ibn Hatem:
«فَإِنْ طَالَتْ بِكَ حَيَاةٌ لَتَرَيَنَّ الظَّعِينَةَ تَرْتَحِلُ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ حَتَّى تَطُوفَ بِالْكَعْبَةِ لَا تَخَافُ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللَّهَ»
“If you live long enough you will see that a woman will travel alone from Hira (a city in Iraq) and will perform Tawaf round Ka’bah, and she will have no fear except that of Allah.”
And, truly Islam had created such safe and secure society where the women under the Khilafah never feared to be dishonored by anyone. It was only the Khilafah that declared war against the Romans just to secure the honor of one single Muslim woman. Hence, the second Khilafah Rashidah (Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood will be re-established very soon by the Will of Allah, and women will be once again truly free from all kinds of oppression.
Fehmida Binte Wadud