TDS Desk:

When a young girl from Dakshin Surma upazila in Sylhet became pregnant, it came to light that she had been raped by a young man from the same village.

The incident occurred in early 2023. The girl’s family filed a rape case against the accused. To avoid prosecution, the young man’s family proposed marriage. The girl, under pressure, agreed.

But instead of a new beginning, the marriage turned into a nightmare.

The girl said her husband and in-laws subjected her to relentless abuse. She was beaten several times and thrown out of the house. At five months pregnant, they forcibly took her to a hospital for an abortion. She managed to escape and return to her parents’ home, where she has been living for the past two years with her child.

“The infant is now one and a half years old. I saved the child by running away,” she said. “They claim it’s not theirs.”

Bilkis Jahan, a lawyer at the Sylhet District and Sessions Judge’s Court, is handling two similar cases—including that of the girl from Dakshin Surma. On 21 April, she told journalist about another teenager who was raped by a man already married with adult children.

When the girl became pregnant, the man married her to avoid the legal consequences. She later gave birth to twins—both of whom died. Not long after, she was thrown out of his home.

“There are many such cases where victims marry their rapists to settle the case out of court,” Bilkis said. But under the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Act, rape is a non-compoundable offence—meaning it cannot legally be resolved through compromise or negotiation.

Yet, village arbitrations or family mediation often push for marriage to preserve ‘honour.’ Once the marriage takes place, victims often face abuse, neglect, and abandonment. The legal case gets stalled because the plaintiff stops appearing in court, the lawyer explained.

Eight women and girls who were married to their accused rapists in the last four years. None of the marriages provided stability. Instead, the survivors were left alone to raise children, fight social stigma, and face repeated trauma. One woman was even murdered. Five other victims and their families who, fearing public shame, are seeking to resolve the matter through marriage.

In almost every case, families described the same helpless rationale: marriage appeared to be the only way to preserve dignity after a rape-induced pregnancy.

Archives revealed at least 20 news reports between 2002 and 2011 of girls—some as young as six and half years old —being married to their rapists. Of those, 11 marriages failed outright. In one case, the victim continued to face abuse despite the marriage surviving. No further information was available in the remaining eight cases.

According to police headquarters, 17,571 cases related to violence against women and children were filed in 2024 alone. Of these, 4,332 were rape cases reported between January and September—meaning rape accounted for 34 per cent of such violence cases in just nine months.

Under Section 9 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, rape is punishable by life imprisonment or death. Yet, survivors remain burdened by a society that offers neither justice nor protection, but often a cruel ultimatum: marry your rapist or be shamed forever.

MURDER, SUICIDE, ABANDONMENT AFTER MARRIAGE

About five years ago, Shamima Akhter (25), a mother of two from Daudkandi in Cumilla, was divorced. A year later, she filed a rape case against a man named Masud. After a settlement through marriage, Masud secured bail. They went on to have two children. But on 19 November last year, Shamima was allegedly murdered—hacked to death—by Masud.

On 23 April, Shamima’s elder brother Joynal Abedin said, “We filed a case against seven people including Masud. Even after all this time, Masud hasn’t been arrested.”

When contacted, Daudkandi Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Junayet Chowdhury said initial investigations suggest that Masud and his associates murdered Shamima. “We are trying to arrest him,” he added.

On 25 March 2025, the interim government issued the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance. It introduced section 9(b) as separate from the original section 9, which outlines punishment for rape and rape-related deaths. The aim, according to the government, is to reduce case backlogs and enable speedier trials.

In another case, a young woman from Savar near Dhaka told journalist that in 2019, a man named Aktar Faruk—an assistant with the Dhaka division of the Roads and Highways Department—raped her when she was alone. She became pregnant, and Aktar allegedly arranged for an abortion. Though he did not agree to marry her at the time due to having a wife and children, he agreed to provide living expenses.

In 2023, the woman became pregnant again and gave birth to a child. In early 2024, the then local MP summoned a marriage registrar (Qazi) to his office to register their marriage. But a month later, Aktar sent her a divorce notice. The woman told journalist that Aktar has not paid regular maintenance for the child.

Aktar Faruk (60) denied the rape and abortion allegations. He claimed they were married at home in 2021 through religious rites, and the registration took place at the MP’s office later. “I sent the divorce notice last year,” he said.

Another tragic case occurred in Bahubal Upazila, Habiganj. In 2016, a rape victim married the accused after reaching a compromise. Four months into the marriage, the girl committed suicide.

Professor Muhammad Umar Faruk, Chairman of the Department of Criminology and Police Science at Maulana Bhashani University of Science and Technology, that when a rape victim is married to the accused, her legal rights are often violated. “The court has the authority to make decisions in the interest of the victim. But we must first consider whether such a decision will benefit her. Awareness must be raised in families, schools, and the media so that girls don’t fall into exploitative relationships,” he said.

MOST MARRIAGE DECISIONS THROUGH VILLAGE ARBITRATION

On 17 March 2011, a horrifying incident unfolded in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria, where a six-and-a-half-year-old rape victim was married to her rapist. The marriage, decided in village arbitration, was conditional: the girl would remain in her father’s house until adulthood, and one decimal of land would be registered in her name. Following media coverage the accused was arrested.

Fourteen years later, on 25 April this year, it was found that when the child turned 13, a notarised affidavit was issued confirming the marriage. Her husband, a habitual gambler, now pressures her to transfer the promised land and frequently beats her. “He rarely comes home.”

Asked about the marriage, the victim’s elder brother said, “Everyone in the village insisted on a marriage considering it was ‘humane,’ so we agreed.” The accused’s father also admitted that his son was a gambler who was rarely home.

All 20 marriages previously reported victims and their rapists—were arranged through village arbitration. In 2004, an educated woman in Bhairab, Kishoreganj, was forced to marry her rapist in such a settlement. She told journalist “Despite trying, I cannot accept him as my husband. Whenever I try, his violent face haunts me. This agony is unbearable.”

In 2005, a gang-rape survivor in Habiganj was forced to marry one of the three accused, who was unmarried, again through arbitration.

In many cases, courts grant bail to rape accused after they agree to marry the victim, although such conditions are not explicitly stated in court orders. Lawyers on both sides say that compromises are negotiated outside formal court records, and the bail is later portrayed as granted “on condition of marriage.” On 21 April this year, such a case was heard in Court No. 29 of the High Court. A lawyer present “These kinds of bail orders happen all the time.”

Reports documented similar cases of marriage to rape accused taking place in Cumilla District and Sessions Judge’s Court in 2020, at the gates of Feni and Rajshahi Jails, and within court premises in Natore and Jhenaidah.

In March 2022, a police sub-inspector (SI), Abdul Jalil, was jailed for raping a widowed mother of two in Panchagarh. He later secured bail on the “condition” of marrying her. His first wife attended the marriage. The victim recently “Abdul Jalil deceived me. He never contacted me again.”

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS

On 20 February 2024, Dhaka’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 Judge Sabera Sultana Khanam rejected a marriage proposal jointly supported by both families. The accused was not granted bail. This reporter was present in court when the judge said, “All of you must help this girl [aged 13] build a life. Don’t marry her off to a rapist. If she can succeed, she will inspire others.”

In 2010, an 11-year-old madrasa student in Chandpur was raped by her 60-year-old teacher and became pregnant. The family initially sought marriage through arbitration, but the girl’s father filed a case. The accused was arrested and, in 2013, sentenced to life by the Chandpur District and Sessions Judge Court. He died in prison two years later.

On 25 April, the girl’s father said the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association took his daughter and grandchild to Dhaka. “She’s my younger daughter. She suffered immensely. Now she’s studying for her BA. Her child was adopted. She wants to finish her studies and find a job.”

‘NOT MARRIAGE, BUT JUSTICE FOR RAPE SURVIVORS IS ESSENTIAL’

Fawzia Moslem, President of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, told journalist that rape is a criminal offence and should not be resolved through marriage. “The courts must ensure punishment for the rapist instead of allowing such degrading settlements. These marriages rarely last. For women to secure their rights, they must also be aware of their responsibilities and dignity, and remain cautious of fraudulent traps,” she said. (Source: Prothom Alo)