Cry for Justice: The story of another unfortunate girl

"..It is possible that a so called “Silent Genocide” is underway in which women are subject to brutal violence..."

Hindu girl a victim of religious persecutionHundred of thousands of women and girls in Bangladesh have fallen to victims of heinous crime and thousands more to come. Violence against women and children is now at very alarming proportion in Bangladesh. The destitute women and children (girl) have been traumatized though subsist the insensible live. Their passionate pain and utter cries for justice perhaps will never be enough to instigate the implementation UN resolution 1325 in Bangladesh. The presumption of armed conflict is not alone enough to justify the need of resolution 1325. It is possible that a so called “Silent Genocide” is underway in which women are subject to brutal violence. In such case, the number could be far more alarming than those in an armed conflict. The definition of “genocide” also can be understood through the analysis of invisible form of annihilation. The visible physical attributes of “Genocide” may not be present in a systematic annihilation yet the consequence is the same. Thus “Silent Genocide” should be careful examined and incorporated within the research of women’s rights as well in augmentation of 1325. Perhaps, you are aware of the ongoing brutal violence against minority women and child! ren, yet I would like to bring another of such crime to your attention. It is just another story of abduction of a minor girl (15). This time the place of occurrence is village Charfashon, Ps Ramgati, District Lakshmipur. “Yet another budding flower is doomed to untimely fall off before it blossoms to its fullness. Such is our society”- Dr. Ajoy Roy of Mukto-Mona (http://www.mukto-mona.org) states with utter grievance.

The story unfolds as terrorists went on rampage at a minority house in a vaillage of Bangladesh snatching away the little girl from her parents. The little girl is Swapna Rani Debnath (15), daughter of Bidhan Krishna Debnath of village Charfashon in the Ramgati Upazila of the district of Lakshmipur. On the night of 29th April, 2003 a group of terrorists numbering 5-6! equipped with firearms and explosives attacked the house of Bidhan Debnath. They created a panicky situation by throwing bombs and other explosives to terrorize the neighborhood so that no one could come to the rescue. The terrorists then snatch away hapeless Swapna and took her to an unknown destination. Babu Bidhan Krishna Debnath, a poor teacher lodged a case, but the police as usual failed to trace the girls or the miscreants. This is not an isolated case of abduction and rape. The incident as such is very common in Bangladesh. The government has made the mockery of its! own domestic law that was suppose to protect women and girls. It is not necessary to observe that Justice weeping silently and furtively in a country. International community has obligation and nobility to intervene. Is the incident of Swapna just a case of simple abduction or is it yet another example of continued minority repression- an act of manifestation of communal feeling on the part of a section of Bangladesh population? Is Swapna a mere target of greed for youth and beauty on the ! part of the misdirected few young men or She is a target of communalism as well? Swapna is not alone the fallen victims of heinous crime in Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of others also await for justice. HRCBM’s web sites at http://www.hrcbm.org and http://www.hrtribune.com/News/news.html swamped with such investigative reports.

The cry for justice must not be ignored. The preaching of women’s and children’s right has to be just rig! ht and open to all women and children around the world.

Thank you

Dhiman Deb Chowdhury

Note: Author is a volunteer of HRCBM (Human rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities).

The view expressed here is individual option.