Woman whipped mercilessly in public on a fatwa

Comilla, Bangladesh, June 10 — A destitute young woman, Rahima Akter, age 26, is groaning with pain at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after she was whipped mercilessly in public on a fatwa (religious edict) for making a paternity claim against a married man for her child, Ramzan, in the remote village of Noagon in the sub-district of Daudkandi in eastern Bangladesh.

On May 22, around 8 p.m., the arbitration was started by the Maulana Abul Kashem, Rahima’s mother told Asia News. The mother said that Rahima had relations with Abdul Karim of the same village and gave birth to a child. She said that the arbitration continued until midnight. Many people came to watch at the local Noagon Ayesha Sidikka Nurani Hafizia Madrasa. It was so crowded, with several hundred people, that there was no extra room to stand.

The fatwa committee members included Matubbar Abdul Kader, local union parishad member Jahangir Alam, Shahid driver, and two muftis from Dhaka. Maulana Abul Kashem led the fatwa committee, she added. Rahima claimed Abdul Karim of the same village to be the father of her son Ramzan, but Karim denied the paternity claim while touching the Koran.

Then Maulana Abul Kashem, who led the fatwa committee, asked Rahima to speak the truth while touching the Koran. She did, but Kashem declared her a liar, according to Rahima’s mother. Although Rahima claimed that Abdul Karim is her son's father, Karim denied the allegation as baseless and false. Rahima demanded a DNA testing of Karim.

The arbitration ended with Maulana Abul Kashem issuing a fatwa that Rahima be whipped 100 times as she was a single mother and sought to have her son's paternity socially acknowledged. The leaders asked Rahima's father, Abdul Matin, to tie her hands, and they whipped Rahima in front of her father and mother, while the mullas beat her father as well, her mother reported to Asia News.

Rahima’s mother told Asia News, “I was standing there in the midst of mullas and a crowd of people, wondering who would come to help us, but no one came to help. They all stood by and stood by the side of the mulla.

“When Rahima lost consciousness after 39 whippings, her father took her home. After my daughter regained her senses, she could not sleep. Then, on May 23, in the morning, we took her to Daudkandi Thana Health Complex. Supporters of Maulana Abul Kashem are still threatening me so that I will withdraw the case, otherwise they will kill my husband.”

Dr. Mohammed Sarfaraz Hossain Khan told Asia News, “Rahima came to the hospital in a very bad situation, with such pain that she was not even able to sit. The lower part of the body had deep swelling, especially in the buttocks. I was shocked at treating such brutality.”

The coordinator of the One Stop Crisis Centre confirmed to Asia News, that Rahima, her father, and her son were there, but that no one could meet them for security reasons.

Hafez Hafizullah of the Noagon Ayesha Sidikka Nurani Hafizia Madrasa told Asia News, “Maulana Abul Kashem issued a fatwa against Rahima, and she was whipped here according to Islamic Shariah law and, as a Muslim, she should come under the rule and decision of Islamic Shariah law.”

Barrister Shafiq Ahmed, the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, told Asia News, “There is no acceptance of fatwa, and it is fully illegal according to the law, and on this issue of Rahima Akter, a case has been filed with the police, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice according to the law.”

The Daudkandi police chief, Moshiur Rahman, told Asia News, "Three out of the six accused were arrested upon a case filed by Abdul Matin, the father of the victim. The case was filed against six people, but the police could only arrest Maulana Abul Kashem Pir Shaheb, Shah Alam and Abdul Karim. The police are trying to catch the others accused in the case.”

Ms. Khushi Kabir, Coordinator of Nijera Kori, a local human rights organization helping the family, said to Asia News, “There are no specific laws on the issue of fatwa and determining paternity. The government should take proper initiative to come out of the crisis immediately by introducing a new law.”

Prominent human rights activist and barrister Sarah Hossain told Asia News, “The reason behind this brutal event is two-fold: social discrimination against women and lack of implementation of laws regarding violence against woman. For the last 15 years, we have campaigned against fatwa. Ten years prior, before the High Court of Bangladesh, a verdict was given against fatwa and declared fatwa illegal. But it’s a sad matter that, even until today, the verdict of the high court has not been fully implemented.” She went on to say, “I demand an impartial investigation and financial remedy and guarantee of security for Rahima Akter and her family, and I affirm my strong position against this brutality.”