A group of 84 feminists on Sunday protested against the recent rape of a 12-year-old Marma girl and on-going attacks on protesters in Khagrachari.
In a statement, sent to the media by activist Marzia Prova, they raised a six-point demand, including arrest, speedy trial and the highest punishment for the Bengalis allegedly involved in the rape of the national minority girl.
The feminist group also demanded trial of the attackers of the protesting national minority people.
Dozens of people were injured in clashes between protesters belonging to national minorities and Bengalis at places in Khagrachari on Saturday when the former had been enforcing a dawn-to-dusk road blockade in the hill district, demanding justice for the rape of the girl allegedly by three Bengali youths while she was returning home from tuition in Khagrachari鈥檚 Singinala on September 23.
The statement alleged that when people in Khagrachari took to the streets in protest at the rape of the Marma girl, law enforcement personnel, instead of arresting the rape accused, attacked the protesters.
During this time the law enforcers were accompanied by Bengalis.
Expressing concern as at least 30 people were injured in attacks amid imposition of Section 144聽 in Khagrachhari Municipality and Sadar upazila areas, the activists said in the statement, 鈥楾his situation has made us extremely concerned about the insecurity of the citizens of the hill communities鈥�.聽
The statement also denounced the government鈥檚 failure in bringing the rape perpetrators and attackers on the national minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the last one year.
The six-point demand raised by the group includes: The settlers involved in the rape of the Marma girl on September 23 must be brought to justice and their highest punishment must be ensured. At the same time, trials for all the rape incidents perpetrated earlier must be instituted within the next 90 days. The members of army along with those Bengali settlers involved in the attacks on the rape protesters must be brought to justice and their highest punishment must be ensured; 鈥極ne-Stop Crisis Centres鈥� and 鈥楩orensic Labs鈥� for rape survivors must be established in Khagrachhari and Bandarban along with other districts; the state鈥檚 law and order and security forces must be covered in the habeas corpus to bring the members of the security forces accused of violating human rights in the CHT; withdrawal of military from the CHT and establish full autonomous rule in the region; and release all the Bawm women and children from jail, stopping collective punishment of the Bawm people.
Signatories of the statement included Dhaka University teacher Moshahida Sultana, Bangladeshi Women Solidarity Network founder Sayema Khatun, journalist Saydia Gulrukh, filmmaker Nasrin Siraj, rights activist Ferdous Ara Rumee and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh teacher Laboni Ashrafi.