Bangladesh, tribal Catholics molested and raped. The attackers remain unpunished
The last two cases of sexual violence in Mymensingh and Rajshahi. Women of the religious minority often do not have the courage to report. Activist: "Christians appear weak and easy targets for persecution".
Sirajganj (AsiaNews) - A Catholic woman of the Guo ethnic group residing in the diocese of Mymensingh was raped by two Muslims; a teenage Santhal from Rajshahi was harassed by her high school principal. These are the last two cases of violence against women in Bangladesh, where the perpetrators who attack the Catholic minority often going unpunished.
The raped woman is the mother of three children and attends the Catholic church of St. Andrew in Diglakuna. She was attacked in her house on the night of 7 November. Two men of Muslim religion came to her house dressed as policemen, then gagged, bound, and raped her in turn. The Catholic found the courage to report the case two days later. One of the two rapists, named Efran, was tracked down by members of the Christian community and handed over to the police.
The adolescent of the Santhal ethnic group was harassed by Addur Satar, principal of her school, on November 9. The 15 year old girl belongs to the Catholic church of Gulta, in the area of Sirajganj, and attends the ninth grade in the Gulta Adibashi Girls School, a local public institution. Her father tells AsiaNews that his daughter "went to the principal's house to get help with homework. At that moment Abdur Satar's wife was not at home and the man remained alone with my daughter. He touched her private parts and wanted to rape her, but luckily my daughter managed to escape. " The father complains that the principal "is an influential person in the community, so the police did not even want to register the complaint. Then some journalists and local leaders put pressure on the agents, until they decided to register the case. "
Nikhil Khaka, of orao ethnicity and president of the Bangladesh Christian Association (BCA) in the district of Sirajganj, declares: "We want an exemplary punishment for Abdur Satar. We know that he has abused many girls in the past, but none have dared to report. Christians appear weak and can be easily persecuted".
.png)
07/02/2019 17:28
19/08/2004
