Violence against women and children, especially rapes, is continuing unabated across the country in the absence of strict observance of rule of law and due to the existing culture of impunity, according to rights activists.

At least 57 incidents of rape were reported in the first two months of this year with at least 34 girls aged 18 or less, show Bangladesh Mahila Parishad data.

Women rights body Naripokkho member Kamrun Nahar told New Age on March 5 that the mindset of not treating women as equal human beings was one of the root causes behind the continued violence against women and girls.

‘The prevailing culture of impunity, social attitude towards girls and women, and victim-blaming are main reasons for the menace,’ she said.

She urged the newly elected government to take necessary steps to establish rule of law and ensure justice in order to end violence against girls and women.

Dhaka University gender studies professor Tania Haque also blamed the absence of strict rule of law for contributing to or failing to prevent violence against women in the country.

‘Ensuring a strict observance of rule of law, speedy trial and stern actions against the perpetrators is needed to stop violence against women and girls,’ she added.

At least 23 minor girls and nine women were raped in February while 17 minor girls and 14 women were raped in January 2026, the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad data show.

A total of 815 rape cases were reported in the past 14 months — between January 2025 and February 2026, according to data compiled by human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra.

Among the 815 victims, 366 were minor aged 18 or less, the ASK data show.

Against this backdrop, the country is set to observe International Women’s Day today as elsewhere across the world with the theme ‘Rights, justice, action for all women and girls’.

At least three minor rapes were reported recently, one of the victims being   murdered after being raped. Besides, a family member of one victim was murdered while trying to stop the perpetrators.

In Narsingdi, a 15-year-old girl was abducted in front of her father and murdered on February 25, two weeks after she had been raped.

When her family members were on their way to the police station after the rape incident, the perpetrators intercepted and forced them to return home.

Later, a union parishad member settled the matter in a social arbitration.

As the girl was still being stalked, her father decided to move her to safety.

When he was taking her to a relative’s house on February 25, they were intercepted on the way and the girl was abducted and killed.

Also, there was the shocking murder of a seven-year-old girl, found with her throat slit at Sitakunda Eco Park on March 1, who according to the police, was subjected to attempted rape.

On March 1, some construction workers informed the police that a girl was found inside the forest with her throat slit in the Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Eco Park.

The police rescued seven-year-old Jannatul Naima Ira and admitted her to the Sitakunda upazila health complex.

She was later shifted to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where she died on March 3 at about 5:00am while undergoing treatment at the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Women rights activists said that it was necessary to bring changes to the relevant laws and society’s discriminatory attitude towards women to prevent violence against women and girls.

Kamrun Nahar, who was a member of the Women’s Affairs Commission formed by the interim government, stressed the need for a serious and effective national campaign against misogyny and violence against women to create awareness.

‘Measures to protect women and children from violence should be outlined in the government’s work plan to disseminate the message that perpetrators involved in such crimes would not be spared,’ she added.

Kamrun Nahar also stressed that it was important to ensure that victims could receive support they needed after they had been subjected to violence.

Supreme Court lawyer Miti Sanjana said that culprits were escaping punishment owing to a huge case backlog that encouraged perpetrators to commit more offences.

‘A strict implementation of the law, ensuring exemplary punishment for the perpetrators, and gender studies needed to be included in the educational curriculum to prevent violence against women and girls,’ she added.

Miti also stressed imposing a zero tolerance policy on violence against women to help end this kind of offence.

At least 366 cases of violence against women and children were reported in January and February 2026, according to Bangladesh Mahila Parishad.

Of them, six girls and three women were subjected to sexual harassment, three girls to stalking while one woman was subjected to acid attack between January and February, BMP data also show.

According to BMP data, six girls and three women were abducted during the same period of time, three girls and three women were murdered for dowry while 30 girls and 30 women were trafficked during the first two months of this year.

Farhana Iris, executive director at the Jatiya Mohila Sangstha under the women and children affairs ministry, told New Age on Saturday that the organisation had a ‘violence against women prevention cell’ that offered primary support for the victims.

‘If the victims need more than primary support, then we assist them with other legal procedures. We are currently working to ensure that the service reaches the grassroots women in all the districts across the country,’ she said.

Farhana also said, ‘We have recently started a review process of the victims’ state after they received our service to determine if they had benefitted from the service or they had been subjected to violence again.’

She also spoke of their organisation’s plan to organise ‘yard meeting’, where men would also be included, along with women, to raise awareness on violence against women.