BANGLADESH: BILL SEEKING DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPE LANDS IN PARLIAMENT

The Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in parliament on 7 November 2020, stipulating the death penalty as the maximum punishment in rape cases. State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nesa introduced the bill and it was sent to the respective parliamentary standing committee for further examination. The committee was asked to submit its report within seven days. In the proposed law, the punishment for rape is death penalty or life imprisonment. According to Article 9 (1) of the existing Women and Children Repression Prevention Act of 2000, the punishment for rape is life imprisonment. This was earlier promulgated through an ordinance on 13 October as parliament was not in session, in the face of populist demands to ensure the death penalty for rapists. As per the legal obligation the ordinance was placed in parliament for its approval by Law Minister Anisul Huq.