THE rape of a woman allegedly by a temporary railway employee on board the Rangpur Express on June 25 is yet another disturbing reminder of the unsafe condition that women face in public transports. The incident took place in the train鈥檚 toilet as it left Kamalapur station in Dhaka. The accused, an outsourced employee, was detained shortly afterwards. The woman, travelling alone from Kurigram, reported the incident to the railway police. Both the victim and the accused were taken to Santahar railway police station, from where they returned to Dhaka for legal procedures. The railway authorities have suspended the employee and set up an investigation. But this is not the first time such an incident occurred. In June 2024, three catering staff members were arrested for raping a female passenger on board the Udayan Express. In January 2024, a schoolgirl was raped by a train attendant on the Lalmoni Express. The recurrence of the crime on the train points to security failures and a public transport system that is unsafe for women.
What the incidents show is not only the vulnerability of women in confined and institutionally managed spaces but a deep institutional inertia that enables such violence to continue. The authorities often respond with tokenistic measures such as suspension, transfer and internal investigation, but little is done to prevent recurrence. Outsourced recruitment practice, which often lacks transparency and rigorous vetting, continue to place under-qualified or unchecked individuals in close contact with passengers. What is more concerning, however, is the chronic dysfunction of the justice system. As of March 2025, more than 148,000 cases under the Women and Children Repression (Prevention) Act were pending, with more than 35,000 unresolved for five years or longer. Slow or delayed prosecution renders justice ineffective. Prosecutors often lack initiatives, witnesses are left unprotected and victims navigate an intimidating and prolonged legal process. A monitoring cell, set up on a 2016 High Court directive to oversee trial time frame, has been dormant for years. Unless witnesses receive adequate protection and courts and prosecution prioritise trials, the cycle of violence will only intensify. The government鈥檚 pledge to expedite rape trial should follow concrete measures such as an increased number of tribunals, empowered monitoring cell, a central secretariat under the Supreme Court and scaled up forensic laboratories so that evidence reaches investigators without delay.
The authorities should safeguard women and children, more in public transports. Mandatory background checks for all transport workers, gender-sensitive security protocols, the appointment of female officers on long-distance trains and installation of functional surveillance equipment are essential. What is most important is the completion of the trial, leading to conviction, where applicable, to stop such incidents.
