The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance in its interim report said that although it had identified significantly more male victims than female ones, many female victims were hesitant to come forward, mostly due to fear of social stigma.
鈥楴evertheless, several brave female survivors have shared their experiences with us. Their accounts of abduction, torture during detention, and eventual release into the legal system are, in many respects, similar to those of male victims,鈥� said the part of the commission report shared by the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing on Monday.
Asked about what steps are being taken by the commission to encourage women survivors to file聽 complaints, commission member and human rights activist Nur Khan Liton said that they were urging all to file complaints from the beginning.
鈥榃e have held two divisional meetings where we urged women also to file complaint without any hesitation and fear,鈥� he added.
Another commission member and BRAC University teacher Nabila Idris told 抖阴精品 that the number of female enforced disappearance victims were several times higher than聽 the reported ones.
鈥榃e urge all female survivors to file complaints and share their experience with us,鈥� she added.
In numerous instances, women were targeted because of their association with male relatives who were suspected of being involved in criminal activities鈥攑articularly terrorism鈥攔egardless of whether such suspicions were based on credible evidence or fabricated claims, said the report, adding that the most shocking aspect of female enforced disappearance has been the discovery of multiple verified cases where women were disappeared along with their children.
The commission was formed by the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus after it had assumed office on August 8 following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime through a student-led mass uprising.
A total of 1,676 complaints of enforced disappearances were recorded by the commission.