Raped schoolgirl takes own life

This tragedy, which is only the latest in a steady string of such incidents, underlines the difficulty that rape victims have in bringing their violators to justice and receiving their day in court.

It has been reported that Nazma's family repeatedly attempted to file a complaint with the local police station, but were denied. Subsequently, her father filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, but no one has been arrested pursuant to this.

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The local villagers have held four arbitrations since the rape in August, but none have delivered justice. An arbitration held on September 3 ordered the rapist to pay a fine of Tk 40,000, but the money, though handed over to the local OC on October 1, was never passed on to Nazma' family.

Compounding Nazma's misery was the fact that she in addition to being raped, over the past few months she has had to suffer beatings, threats, and humiliation from the hands of other villagers.

This terrible story serves as a textbook case for what is wrong with our legal system and society, and shows how to this day neither the law nor society is sufficiently attentive to the needs of those who are most vulnerable.

The fact is that Nazma was failed by both the formal and informal legal systems, both of which are utterly insensitive and corrupted to deal with such cases. Even worse is the fact that, as a rape victim, she was forced to suffer ostracisation and humiliation in her community, and that shame and stigma were attached to her when she fell victim to another's lust.

This is a challenge the authorities and the society as a whole must take up. Police officials and courts need to be responsive and functional so that people can receive justice, and the guilty are not able to buy their way out of trouble due to their wealth or their connections. The very first duty of the government is to provide security and justice for its people. The law, in practice as well as on paper, must put more value on protecting women, their rights, and their dignity.