A group of students at Jahangirnagar University on Sunday staged a protest march and formed a human chain demanding justice over the attempted rape and murder of a female student.
Under the banner of “Nari Nirapotta Mancha” (Women’s Safety Platform), the students brought out a procession from Murad Chattar around 3:45pm. They chanted slogans including, “Rapists roam the campus, what is the proctor doing?” and “We want a women-friendly campus.”
The procession paraded different roads of the campus before ending in front of the university’s new administrative building, where the protesters formed a human chain.
The protesters called for immediate arrest of the accused, publication of the probe report, and accountability of those responsible for security lapses.
On 12 May, an outsider allegedly attempted to rape and kill a female student on the campus. Following the incident, female students launched a movement demanding the resignation of the university proctor, alleging failure to ensure security.
Amid the protests, the university authorities on 16 May formed a seven-member probe committee and asked it to submit its report within seven working days. Sources concerned said the report was placed before the syndicate meeting held on 15 June.
Speaking at the human chain, Sohagi Samia, an organiser of Nari Nirapotta Mancha and a student of the Department of Drama and Dramatics, said the accused in the 12 May incident has yet to be brought to justice.
More than 40 days have passed, but the suspect has neither been identified nor arrested, she said.
“The authorities assured us that the accused would be brought under the law within 48 hours. We were told that the army, Rab and police were working on the matter. But we have yet to see any outcome,” she said.
Sohagi alleged that the incident exposed not only the university administration’s failure but also raised questions over the role of law enforcement agencies. She said several incidents of harassment had taken place on the campus even after the 12 May attack.
“We repeatedly told the administration that while arresting the accused may not be its responsibility, ensuring overall security on the campus certainly is. There is no scope to evade that responsibility,” she said.
She further alleged that most complaints regarding harassment of female students over the last two and a half years remained unresolved.
“Today’s sense of insecurity did not emerge overnight. It is the result of years of negligence and inaction by the authorities,” she said, adding that the movement would continue until their demands are met.
Criticising the delay in publishing the probe report, Sohagi said the authorities had promised to make it public within seven days, but had yet to do so.
“We demand immediate publication of the investigation report. If any incident threatening women’s safety occurs in future, the movement will be intensified,” she said.
Another organiser, Lamisha Zaman, a student of the Department of History, said families send their children to universities expecting a safe educational environment, but the authorities have failed to ensure that.
“We have even seen responsible officials publicly claiming that ensuring security is not their responsibility. Then the question remains – whose responsibility is it?” she said.
Criticising the home ministry and law enforcement agencies, Lamisha said that despite the passage of more than 40 days, the accused had neither been identified nor arrested and no satisfactory information had been provided regarding the progress of the investigation.
She said around 2,500 female students had placed a six-point demand after the incident, but none of those demands had been fully implemented.
According to Lamisha, although the authorities promised to disclose information regarding the investigation within five days, they failed to keep that commitment. Attempts by Nari Nirapotta Mancha to communicate with the administration during the vacation also yielded no satisfactory response.
Referring to incidents of harassment in areas adjacent to the campus during the vacation, she said, “A campus cannot be called safe if a female student enters it every day with a sense of insecurity.”
She said ensuring students’ safety was the responsibility of the administration and those responsible must be held accountable for failing to discharge that duty.
On 16 May, protesting students locked the proctor office, and it has remained under lock and key since then.
