June 26 was observed as International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The day is annually observed to speak out against torture and to honour and support victims and survivors of torture throughout the world.
Coincidentally or not, on this day of the international anti-torture movement, a housewife from Dhaka posted a heart-breaking Facebook status update, saying that her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law were continuously torturing her to demand dowry from her family.
Sumaiya Hassan, the housewife, shared her story at 3:10pm on Friday along with six photos showing several wounds on her body.
Soon after it was posted, Sumaiya’s social media post went viral and the actions described there drew harsh criticism from countless numbers of people. Many people in the comment section also suggested that she seek the help of the police.
In her post, Sumaiya said she had filed a case in this connection before, but her husband and in-laws tortured her again after acting as if the issue had been resolved.
She said her in-laws encouraged her husband, Jahid Hassan Ontor, to beat her, telling him that she would give them money if he did so.
Sumaiya added that her brother-in-law, Hridoy, told her husband to beat her more “effectively”.
She said both Jahid and Hridoy were drug addicts.
She claimed that everyone in the area knew about her predicament but remained silent.
Sumaiya pleaded for help on social media, saying that she had a baby.
She alleged that she could have said these things long ago but her in-laws had threatened to kill her younger brother if she did.
When contacted, her father-in-law Abdur Rahim, who is a security guard at a public university, told Dhaka Tribune: “We did not torture her. My unemployed son did it of his own accord.
“The matter is being resolved. My son Jahid will sign a document from the police stating that he will not torture her anymore.”
At around 2:30pm on Saturday, Abul Hasan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Shahbagh police station, told Dhaka Tribune: “We have held the man [Jahid].
“We are asking the woman’s family to file a case but they have not done that yet.”
Sumaiya’s father-in-law Abdur Rahim later said: “The signs of injuries on Sumaiya’s body shown in the photos uploaded on Facebook are from several years ago.
“The complaints raised against us, including the dowry allegations, are totally untrue. She previously filed two false cases with the court, and later withdrew them herself.”
Regarding the physical torture, Sumaiya’s father-in-law said: “My son slapped her for her awful behaviour, and even that was several years ago.”
In the evening of the same day, OC Abul Hasan said Sumaiya had gone to her father’s house in Bongshal after her husband assaulted her a few days ago.
“Neither she nor her family has filed a case in this connection. She has instead returned home along with her husband,” he added.
Regarding the injuries on her back, Abul Hasan said: “The injuries on her back are fresh. But only physicians can ascertain when she was hit, or with what, if a case is filed.”
