President to sign ordinance tomorrow on death penalty for rape
The cabinet today approved a proposal on death penalty to the rapists
President Abdul Hamid will promulgate an ordinance tomorrow increasing the punishment of rapists from life term to the death, says the Law Minister Anisul Huq.
The minister told this media after the cabinet's approval of a proposal to enact the punishment.
"The law needed to be amended quickly. Therefore, it has been decided to issue an ordinance as the session of the parliament is not in progress," Anisul Huq told The Business Standard.
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Earlier in the day, the cabinet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair approved the proposal to amend the Women & Children Repression Prevention Act.
On Sunday, newly-appointed Attorney General AM Amin Uddin on his first working day said that if the law was amended to allow the death penalty, the oppression on women will lessen.
The decision came amid the growing protests against recent incidents of rape, sexual harassment and violence against women in the country.
According to the local human rights organization Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK), between January and September 2020, at least 975 rape cases were reported in Bangladesh, including 208 gang-rapes.
