Women repression doubles
Staff Correspondent
The incidents of women repression doubled last year compared to 2002, a study carried out by a legal aid group said yesterday. The Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) study said 5,207 women were repressed last year, up from 2,511 in 2002. It said 1,550 women were raped and 424 women and children were gang-raped last year. One hundred and sixty-six women were killed after rape and 15 committed suicide after rape. As many as 266 women were killed by their in-laws, 26 burnt with acid and 124 tortured in dowry-related violence, the survey that gathered information from newspapers said. Nine women committed suicide to escape torture for dowry. The study said 562 women were also compelled to commit suicide for other reasons. The BNWLA said 740 women and children were killed, 204 women were physically tortured, 254 burnt with acid, 329 trafficked and 537 abducted last year. Twenty-seven incidents of fatwa took place involving women during the period. As many as 577 women died in unnatural circumstances, the study said.
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