Latest news with #NewBangladesh
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First Post
04-07-2025
- First Post
24 rapes in 9 days: Is Bangladesh safe for women?
Bangladesh reported at least 24 rape cases between June 20 and 29. The alleged gang-rape of a woman in Bhola district and the 'rape' of a Hindu woman by a neighbour in Cumilla district have rocked the South Asian country in recent days. The rising violence against women has been described as a 'pandemic-level crisis' read more Bangladesh has reported over 20 rape cases in nine days. File Photo/AFP Bangladesh has been rocked by multiple rape cases in just over a week. Violence against women has become increasingly common in the South Asian country in recent years. At least 24 incidents of rape were reported in Bangladesh in nine days between June 20 and 29, as per a Dhanka Tribune report. Recently, a video of a woman being sexually assaulted had caused a huge uproar in the country. The rise in rape cases has been described as a 'pandemic-level crisis.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Let's take a closer look. Recent Rape cases in Bangladesh On Sunday (June 29), a woman was allegedly gang-raped after her husband was held captive and tortured for two days at the house of his third wife in Bhola district in south-central Bangladesh. Seven people, including local leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party-affiliated organisations — Sramik Dal, Jubo Dal, and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal — have been arrested as per a Prothom Alo report. Another rape case has horrified Bangladesh. Last week, a woman from the Hindu minority community was allegedly raped in central Bangladesh's Cumilla district. As per the police, the survivor was visiting her father's house when a neighbour broke in and assaulted her. The woman told local media that the accused, identified as 36-year-old Fazor Ali, 'entered the house with bad intentions and tortured her'. Four other people were arrested for filming and sharing the videos of the sexual assault. The incident sparked outrage in Bangladesh, with students of Dhaka University staging protests on the campus. Is Bangladesh safe for women? One woman was raped every nine hours in Bangladesh from January 2020 to September 2024, according to Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a national legal aid and human rights organisation. This means two women were raped each day in the country just on the basis of media reports. Rape cases in Bangladesh remain under-rported. File Photo/Reuters The ASK data found that a total of 4,787 rape cases were recorded during this period, as per Asia News Network. Of these, 2,862 victims were children aged 18 and below. Of these cases, 47 per cent of the victims were aged 13 to 18. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In March, Chief adviser Muhammad Yunus called the reports of violence against women 'deeply troubling', saying they were a deviation from the vision of a 'New Bangladesh'. Legal experts say many cases remain unreported in the South Asian country. Senior Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna told Asia News Network, 'I believe the actual number is much higher. We rely on newspaper data, and when necessary, verify cases with the police. Naturally, the numbers are lower if victims don't come to police.' Of the more than 4,000 rapes reported by Bangladesh media, cases were filed only in 3,419 cases. 'There's no guarantee that a victim will get justice even if they file a case, so why would they bother? Rape cases often remain unresolved beyond the mandated 180-day timeframe, and convictions are rare,' barrister Jyotirmoy Barua told the news outlet. 'The court alone cannot deliver justice, as 99 per cent of the process — filing the case, conducting investigations, and presenting witnesses — is carried out by state authorities. The public's lack of trust in the entire system which is severely flawed, discourages victims from filing and reporting cases, ultimately undermining the court's ability to deliver justice.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Thursday (July 3), Sharmeen S Murshid, Bangladesh's adviser to the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, told reporters that the ministry's toll-free hotline has received 281,000 complaints over the past 10–11 months. What is the govt doing to address the 'rape crisis'? Addressing a press briefing, Murshid said that the government has decided to form quick response teams at the upazila (district) level, led by the upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs), to curb the crimes against women. 'Following the rape of a housewife in Muradnagar, Comilla, a quick response team has already been deployed under the local UNO's leadership,' she said, as per Dhaka Tribune. 'I have been working on violence against women and children for 40 years. Governments have come and gone, but none have been able to tackle the issue. The roots lie in politics, drugs, technology, and social degradation. The unchecked access to mobile phones and pornography is distorting children's minds.' She added: 'A 10-year-old child has sexually assaulted a two-and-a-half-year-old girl. How can we even explain this? The child doesn't even understand what he has done. Are we truly able to protect our children? We can no longer hide from this complex social problem, which demands both counselling and medical attention.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Murshid also called for regulating access to pornography for children. She suggested monitoring madrasas in relation to child sexual abuse. 'Madrasas often remain out of sight, but child sexual abuse is taking place there too. We're not getting the data. Our officials will now go directly to schools and madrasas to ensure accountability,' the adviser said. She promised to implement permanent initiatives to prevent violence against women and children. With inputs from agencies
India Gazette
09-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Bangladesh Awami League expresses concern over Starmer's scheduled meeting with Yunus
Dhaka [Bangladesh], June 9 (ANI): The Bangladesh Awami League on Monday expressed deep concern over UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's reportedly scheduled meeting with Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, the party said in a statement. 'The Awami League has today expressed deep concern over UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's reportedly scheduled meeting with Muhammad Yunus, the self-declared Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, warning that any formal meeting lends legitimacy to an unelected and unconstitutional administration,' said the Awami League statement posted on its Facebook page. A formal letter from the Awami League's UK branch has been sent to Downing Street, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the King's Foundation, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, urging British officials not to unwittingly launder Yunus's administration, just as Bangladesh's crisis deepens, it added. Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is going on a bilateral official visit to the United Kingdom from June 10 to 13, 2025. During the visit, the Chief Adviser is expected to have an audience with King Charles III of the United Kingdom. The Chief Adviser is also likely to hold a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during the visit. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led uprising in August last year. She is now living in India in self-imposed exile. After Sheikh Hasina's fall, an interim government was formed under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. Ahead of the UK visit, Muhammad Yunus announced that the national election will be held in the first half of April 2026. The announcement of the national election is a major development for Bangladesh politics after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024. The Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman had said on May 21 that the national election should be held by December this year, The Daily Star reported. Yunus said in his address that after one and a half decades, a truly representative parliament will be formed in the country. He urged the people of the country 'to obtain specific commitments' from all political parties and candidates that they will approve without any change, in the first session of the next parliament, the reforms on which consensus has been reached, the report said. He also reminded the people of the country that this election is not just about peaceful elections. It is an election to build a 'New Bangladesh'. (ANI)
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Business Standard
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
B'desh Awami League concerned over Starmer's upcoming meeting with Yunus
The Bangladesh Awami League on Monday expressed deep concern over UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's reportedly scheduled meeting with Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, the party said in a statement. "The Awami League has today expressed deep concern over UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's reportedly scheduled meeting with Muhammad Yunus, the self-declared Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, warning that any formal meeting lends legitimacy to an unelected and unconstitutional administration," said the Awami League statement posted on its Facebook page. A formal letter from the Awami League's UK branch has been sent to Downing Street, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the King's Foundation, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, urging British officials not to unwittingly launder Yunus's administration, just as Bangladesh's crisis deepens, it added. Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is going on a bilateral official visit to the United Kingdom from June 10 to 13, 2025. During the visit, the Chief Adviser is expected to have an audience with King Charles III of the United Kingdom. The Chief Adviser is also likely to hold a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during the visit. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led uprising in August last year. She is now living in India in self-imposed exile. After Sheikh Hasina's fall, an interim government was formed under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. Ahead of the UK visit, Muhammad Yunus announced that the national election will be held in the first half of April 2026. The announcement of the national election is a major development for Bangladesh politics after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024. The Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman had said on May 21 that the national election should be held by December this year, The Daily Star reported. Yunus said in his address that after one and a half decades, a truly representative parliament will be formed in the country. He urged the people of the country "to obtain specific commitments" from all political parties and candidates that they will approve without any change, in the first session of the next parliament, the reforms on which consensus has been reached, the report said. He also reminded the people of the country that this election is not just about peaceful elections. It is an election to build a 'New Bangladesh'.
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India.com
06-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Bangladeshs Muhammad Yunus Calls For National Polls In April 2026 Amid Pressure
Bangaladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus has announced to hold the national elections in April next year amid pressure from political parties and protesting students. Yunus said that the Election Commission will share a detailed roadmap for the elections at an appropriate time. This comes amid allegations that Yunus doesn't want to relinquish power given to him as a temporary measure. "The government has held discussions with all parties to organise the most free, fair, competitive and acceptable elections in history. In addition, after reviewing the ongoing reform activities related to justice, reform and elections, I am announcing to the people of the country today that the next national elections will be held on a day in the first half of April 2026," Yunus said in a televised address to the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha on Friday. Yunush said the interim government under his leadership took office with three key mandates - reform, justice and elections. "I believe that by the next Eid-ul-Fitr, we will be able to reach an acceptable point on reform and justice. Especially, all will be able to see visible progress on the trial of crimes against humanity – which is the government's collective responsibility towards the martyrs of the July mass uprising," he said. During his address, Yunus also urged the people that this election should not only about peaceful elections but about building a 'New Bangladesh' as aspired by the students and the masses. "In this election, there will be only known parties. They will have their known symbols. But the voter has to find out who the candidates behind this symbol are to what extent they are ready to build a 'New Bangladesh'. How committed are they?" he said. This marks a significant shift in Bangladesh's political landscape since the Awami League government, led by Sheikh Hasina, was unseated in August 2024. The BNP and allied parties have been pushing for elections to happen by December. Meanwhile, the National Citizen Party, a new group formed by leaders of the July uprising, has insisted that elections only take place after necessary reforms are completed. Adding to the discussion, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman stated on May 21 that national elections should indeed be held by this December.
Barnama
24-04-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Bangladesh Secures Qatar's Support For Reform Programme
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, held talks in Doha on Thursday to boost bilateral cooperation. NEW DELHI, April 24 (Bernama) -- The Bangladesh interim government's reform programme has received strong support from Qatar. Yunus sought Qatar's "full diplomatic, financial, and investment support for building a New Bangladesh', according to a statement. "We need your support to build the country of the dream of our youth," Yunus told Sheikh Mohammed. Bangladesh is rebuilding itself through various reforms after Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister in a student-led mass uprising last year.
