Bangladeshis protest after sexually assaulted girl burned to death
DHAKA, (DNA) – : Demonstrations were held across the Bangladesh capital Saturday for the tenth consecutive day after a teenager who accused a head teacher of sexually harassing her was burned to death.
The killing of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi has sparked outrage across the South Asian nation and put police action in the case under the spotlight.
Protesters in Dhaka chanted slogans demanding the death sentence for the killers of the girl, who police say was lured to the rooftop of the seminary she attended in Feni, south of the capital.
Police said the attackers then ordered her to withdraw a police complaint against the head of the school. When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire.
Rafi died in hospital on April 10 after suffering 80 percent burns.
Eighteen people, including the head teacher, have been arrested.
Her death has set off demonstrations in several cities across the Muslim-majority country of 165 million.
Many believe the murder has exposed a “culture of impunity” surrounding sex crimes against women and children, while those who complain often feel a backlash.
“Rapes and sexual assaults have risen alarmingly in the country,” protester M. Rahman Apu told. “Nusrat Rafi´s murder proves that the even the bravest of girls do not get justice.
“Instead she was murdered for daring to lodge a complaint against the perpetrator. Had police and the administration worked properly, she could have been protected,” Apu said.
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