Staff Reporter:
The streets of Shahbagh reverberated with slogans yesterday as students from 20 different colleges in Dhaka staged a dawn-to-dusk blockade, demanding justice for rape victims and stringent punishment for perpetrators.
Under the slogan “Raise Your Voice Again, Dig the Rapists’ Graves,” the protest took place in front of the National Museum, denouncing the recent rape of an eight-year-old girl in Magura and the continuing violence against women across the country.
Students from institutions like Notre Dame College, Dhaka College, Government Science College, Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Bir Shreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf Public College, Bir Shreshtha Noor Mohammad Public College, Dhaka City College, Holy Cross College, Wills Little Flower School and College, Dhaka Residential Model College, and Adamjee Cantonment College actively participated in the demonstration.
The protesters presented a six-point demand, the key focus being the introduction of capital punishment for rapists and public execution to set a strong precedent.
They also urged the government to establish dedicated tribunals to expedite rape cases. While the exist-ing law allows 90 days for a verdict, the students demanded the trial process be completed within 30 days through a special tribunal.
Further, the demonstrators called for immediate action within 24 hours of a reported rape incident.
They insisted on the immediate arrest of the accused, medical examination of the victim, and completion of witness statements within this timeframe. Besides, they pressed for execution within 15 days should the accused be found guilty.
The students strongly opposed any alternative dispute resolution in rape cases, emphasising that such hei-nous crimes must not be settled through informal arbitration or mediation.
Throughout the protest, slogans such as “We Want Justice,” “Spread the Word Across Bangladesh, Bury the Rapists,” and “Who Are You, Who Am I? We Are Achia” echoed in the streets of Shahbagh.
Around 1 pm, demonstrators briefly blocked Shahbagh Road for 15 minutes before resuming their pro-test at the National Museum.
Acknowledging the public inconvenience during Ramadan, the students decided to withdraw the road blockade but continued their protest in a different form.
In anticipation of potential unrest, additional police forces were deployed to the area. As the day pro-gressed, more students from various colleges joined the movement, reinforcing their call for justice and a safer Bangladesh for women.
