The country has yet to see any let-up in the violence against women perpetuating in diverse forms through a culture of impunity, delayed justice dispensation and deeply embedded discriminatory social psyche, rights activists observe.
Recently, a number of incidents have widely been reported regarding women facing violent situations over their clothing, life style and other issues, bringing the question of their safety and security to the fore again.
On March 1, two women came under a mob attack over smoking at a tea stall in the capital鈥檚 Lalmatia area, where a mob of men launched a ferocious assault on them.
Sadia Afrin Shayla, working at a nonprofit organisation in Dhaka, told 抖阴精品 on Friday that nowadays she dreaded to step outside home as violent crimes again women had seen a surge in recent times.
鈥楾hese people are attacking not just with words; forming mob they are physically attacking women. I聽 have to go out almost every day and honestly, I never feel safe. I always fear that I could be attacked any moment,鈥� she said.
Terming recent incidents of violence against women as terrifying, Dhaka University associate professor for sociology Samina Lutfa said that the interim government had miserably failed to ensure women鈥檚 security.
鈥楾he incidents that are happening are extremely fearful. If the government cannot secure the rights of women as citizens to lead their life according to their own lifestyle, while it even sides with of the perpetrators, then it makes it evident that the government is not on the women鈥檚 side,鈥� she said.
Mentioning the recent attack on the Shahbagh police station in Dhaka city to snatch a sexual harasser, Samina observed that even the law and order force members posted there did not have security. She also questioned the home ministry鈥檚 action in the incident.
According to the Police Headquarters data, at least 17,571 cases related to聽 rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence, among others, were filed all over the country under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act between January and December in 2024.
At least 8,307 cases were filed between August 2024 and January 2025, after a political changeover on August 5 following a mass uprising.
Against this backdrop, International Women鈥檚 Day is being observed in the country as elsewhere across the globe.
鈥楽ociety鈥檚 negative mindset towards women must see a change. Perpetrators must be punished, women should be raised self-reliant, while resistance must be built to eliminate violence against women and girls,鈥� Bangladesh Mahila Parishad president Fouzia Moslem told 抖阴精品 on Thursday.
She stated that violence against women and girls should be considered as an issue of both society and the state, and everyone irrespective of gender should come forward to resist violence against women.
Total 2,016 rape cases were filed between August 2024 and January 2025, according to the PHQ data.
The data also revealed that 4,394 rape cases were reported between January and December in 2024.
Rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra in its monthly report revealed that 46 women and girls were raped only in February in the current year, which was 39 in January.
In a latest incident sending a shockwave across the country is the brutal rape of an eight-year-old girl at the home of the in-laws of her sister in Magura early Thursday that left her severely injured.
The child was put on life support at6 about 9:15pm Friday at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The police arrested the husband and the father-in-law of victim鈥檚 sister on Thursday.
On February 2, the body of a 13-year-old girl was recovered from Hatirjheel Lake in the capital after she had gone missing from the capital鈥檚 Dakshinkhan on January 19.
The police said that five men lured the girl to a house in Mohakhali where they raped her and then threw her body in the lake when she died.
Women rights activists put the situation down to the perpetrators going unpunished, deterioration of overall law and order situation, social and political unrest and a lack of social awareness.
On March 3, a three-year-old child in Barlekha upazila in Moulvibazar was raped when she went to buy candy from a shop that is just downstairs their house.聽
The victim鈥檚 mother filed a case with the Barlekha police that night with the accused 17-year-old shopkeeper being arrested, said the police station鈥檚 investigation inspector Sheikh Mohammad Kamruzzaman.
The accused was sent to a Juvenile Development Centre after he was produced before the court, he told 抖阴精品 on Thursday.
At least 8,935 calls were made to the national emergency helpline 999 reporting incidents of violence against women and girls since August 2024 till February 2025, the official data said.
Of them, 1,506 calls were made in February alone.
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs senior secretary Mamtaz Ahmed told 抖阴精品 on Thursday that the ministry was working on raising awareness on preventing violence against women, women empowerment and legal assistance.
But, she admitted, this was not adequate at all.
Stating the current situation as alarming for women, Supreme Court lawyer Miti Sanjana said that culprits were escaping punishment owing to a huge case backlog that encouraged them to commit more offences.
Stressing rehabilitation for victims, Miti said that many victims and their families decide not to seek justice for fear of stigma, letting the perpetrators to go scot-free.
鈥楾he culture of victim blaming is very much present in our country and lax measures by the authorities encourage the perpetrators repeat their offences,鈥� she added.
A zero tolerance policy for violence against women and ensuring equality among citizens were the prerequisites if the state really wanted to see the situation to improve, Miti further stressed.
Ain o Salish Kendra data showed that 207 women and girls fell victim to sexual harassment across the country in 2024, while the number was 142 in 2023, 161 in 2022, 128 in 2021 and 201 in 2020.
At least 21 women and girls were victims of domestic violence in January 2025.
At least 312 women were murdered reportedly by their husbands in 2024, 207 in 2023, 206 in 2022, 224 in 2021, and 240 women in 2020.
Bangladesh Adivasi Women Network coordinator Falguni Tripura said that women became vulnerable during any political changeover in the country, adding that it was the state鈥檚 responsibility to give safety to women.
鈥楿nderestimating women, discriminatory mindset and religious extremist views are among key reasons for the recent surge in violence against women,鈥� she said.
Falguni also said that failure of the government to curb the violence against women would worsen the situation.
Regarding cyber-bullying and harassment on social media platforms, including Facebook and Whatsapp, the Police Cyber Support for Women recorded 9,117 complaints in 2024. These complaints, among others, include sexual harassment messages and posts on social media platforms and spreading sexually offensive content online.