1,687 women fall victim to violence

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 04:13 AM GMT+06:00
1,687 women fall victim to violence in 6 months
A total of 1,687 women fell victim to violence including fatwa (religious edict) in the country from January to June this year, according to a Bangladesh Mahila Parishad report based on news published in 14 daily newspapers.
The report says 329 women experienced violent torture while 73 of them were gang raped and 66 killed after rape.
A total of 49 women were victims of acid violence while 22 were burnt in fire.
The report also said 55 women were abducted and 125 women and children were trafficked during this period. Out of the trafficked, 10 were sold to brothels.
The number of women repressed for failure to pay dowry was 148 and 99 of them were killed for dowry.
A total of 27 domestic workers were tortured by their employers and 8 women were tortured by members of law enforcement agencies.
During the same period, 135 women committed suicide due to repression and 47 women and children died in mysterious circumstances.
The number of women fell victim to violence in June alone is 333. A total of 73 incidents of rape and 15 gang rapes were reported in the same month.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) reported 235 incidents of violence against women last month, based on reports published in 10 national dailies.