On April 6, 2013, Ekushey TV crime reporter Nadia Sharmin was assaulted by Hefazat-e-Islam activists. The assault took place in the capital’s Purana Paltan area, when Nadia Sharmin was covering Hefazat-e-Islam’s post-long march rally, as part of her assignment.
Following the attack on Nadia, around 60 unnamed activists were sued, and Shahbagh Police Station lodged a case under the Section 10 of Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. The case was then ordered to be transferred from the police branch to the Detective Branch. Since then no firm action followed from the High Court or the Detective Branch, while the Hefazat-e-Islam has denied the occurrence of any such incident.
Nadia Sharmin’s case is one of many that depict the sheer culture of impunity. During the assault, the attackers threw bricks and water bottles at the reporter, going so far as to beat her. She received several injuries to her head, and one of her legs is practically non-functional from a torn ligament. Her peers had to struggle past the rally to take her to a hospital.
The high court ordered for her to be moved to a government hospital and arranged necessary treatment, admitting her to a cabin at the government cost. However, there was no further progress made in the Nadia Sharmin case despite the authorities possessing high quality video footage that could be used to identify her attackers. The case eventually lost the interest of the media and allowed the government to let it slide.
This case is unfortunately not an isolated one. Several women were harassed during the Hefazat-e-Islam rally, apparently in the name of religion — due to the absence of head scarves or burqa, or just for being present in a “man’s space.” Violence against women in the name of religion is hardly questioned. In most cases, either they remain to be untold stories, or they are forgotten as with Nadia. Seeking justice for these crimes is not even on the national agenda. Today, Nadia Sharmeen is unemployed, remains traumatised and is shunned by society for her perils.
Religion and politics aside, these assaults on our women are a sign of how little we have achieved. If we cannot allow half our people the right to choose how to live their lives, and instead let them be victims, our entire society will forget them.