Bangladesh: Appeal for change after trans woman’s murder
Murder is ’emblematic of the wider challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in Bangladesh’
The beating death of a 25-yeqr-old trans woman in eastern Bangladesh shows that more needs to be done to protect the nation’s sexual and gender minorities, says the human rights advocacy group JusticeMakers Bangladesh and its French affiliate.
The murder victim was Sohel Rana, a trans woman known as Dustu, who lived in Brahmanbaria, east of the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. Since last year, she had been in a romantic relationship with Rakib, a 23-year-old auto rickshaw driver. After an argument, he struck her fatally with a tree branch and then with a brick, according to the online site jagonews24.com. Her lifeless body was discovered on the night of July 1.
After police tracked down Rakib, he was arrested on July 4, confessed to the murder and was jailed.
Shahanur Islam, a prominent human rights lawyer in Bangladesh, said that Dustu’s case should not be treated as an isolated incident but rather as emblematic of the wider challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in the country. Shahanur Islam is the founder of both JusticeMakers Bangladesh and JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF).
He said that throughout Bangladesh LGBTQ+ individuals, including transgender people, endure systemic discrimination, violence, and flagrant human rights violations. He acknowledged that Bangladesh has launched commendable governmental initiatives to recognize transgender individuals as the third gender, but said that more comprehensive measures are urgently required to ensure their full protection, rights, and social integration.
Islam said JMBF “stands united in its demand for exemplary punishment for those responsible [for Dustu’s murder], aiming to send a resounding message that such acts of violence will not be tolerated.”
For the time being, Shahanur Islam is working in France after receiving multiple threats in Bangladesh for his human rights advocacy work there.
