Teen girl lashed to death for 'adultery' in Bangladesh

By Catholic Online
3/31/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

14-year-old girl lashed 70 times in front of parents

In a horrific case of rural justice, a 14-year-old girl was lashed 70 times in front of her parents on alleged adultery charges. She cried out to her mother proclaiming her innocence, and her death a week later was judged a suicide by a local hospital.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Hena Akhter was the youngest child of Darbesh Khan and his wife, Aklima Begum. The 14-year-old Akhter lived with her parents and four other siblings in Bangladesh's Shariatpur district. Crisscrossed by murky rivers that lend waters to rice paddies and lush vegetable fields, she lived with her family in a house constructed of corrugated tin and rotting wood.

Hena's cousin, Mahbub Khan had returned to Shariatpur from a stint working in Malaysia. His son was Hena's age, and the two were in seventh grade together.

Khan reportedly eyed Hena and began harassing her on her way to school and back, said Hena's father. He complained to the elders who run the village about his nephew, who was three times Hena's age.

The elders admonished Mahbub Khan and ordered him to pay $1,000 in fines to Hena's family. According to her sister, many months later, Hena was walking from her room to an outdoor toilet when Mahbub Khan gagged her with cloth, forced her behind nearby shrubbery and beat and raped her.

Hena struggled to escape and Mahbub Khan's wife heard Hena's muffled screams and when she found Hena with her husband, she dragged the teenage girl back to her hut, beat her and trampled her on the floor.

The next day, the village elders met to discuss the case at Mahbub Khan's house. The imam pronounced his fatwa. Khan and Hena were found guilty of an illicit relationship. Her punishment under sharia, or Islamic law was 101 lashes; his 201.

Mahbub Khan managed to escape after the first few lashes. Darbesh Khan and Aklima Begum had no choice but to mind the imam's order. They watched as the whip broke the skin of their youngest child and she fell unconscious to the ground.

An initial autopsy report cited no injuries and deemed her death a suicide.

"What happened to Hena is unfortunate and we all have to be ashamed that we couldn't save her life," Sultana Kamal, who heads the rights organization Ain o Shalish Kendro says.

Bangladesh is considered a democratic and moderate Muslim country, and national law forbids the practice of sharia. Activist and journalist Shoaib Choudhury, who documents such cases, said sharia is still very much in use in villages and towns aided by the lack of education and strong judicial systems.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Bangladesh, punishment, lashes, Islamic law

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

Diane
2 years ago
What a shocking story! I began to feel outrage, but stopped and felt tears instead. Poor little girl.
eamonn kelly
2 years ago
this is an utter disgrace the people of this town or village to let this happen to this young girl shame on you,, you need to rise up like the phoenix
and crush this evil by what ever means necessary, freedom comes from gods right hand it is not a man made thing but you can obtain it with prayer and saint Micheal at you're side and of course with an AK47.
Maria Gonzalez
2 years ago
I cried when I read this. It's unbelievable that in this day and age, crimes on children like this are still happening in the world. This is when I agree that if a war should break out to stop this kind of violence and end the Sharia Law, then we should have it.

How do you stop abuse, bullies and evil? Sometimes with a bigger person showing them they're not that powerful. At a larger level, it's the same way! Countries need to stand with each other against countries that allow this to happen.

We pray and we do something about it. We can't hope it will end and we can't wait for their government to make changes; democratic governments need to step in.

Where are the so called "feminists" in this? How come they haven't done anything to help women and children in Sharia countries? It's all about their abortion agenda and they're not out there where the help is really needed.

I feel terrible for this girl and I can't comprehend the injustice! Jesus scourged all over again through children! Beyond sad!
May she be in God's hands now where no harm can ever touch her again!
hartwood
2 years ago
Oh,boy! We think we have troubles in the US. "When much is given,much is expected..,"
lisag
2 years ago
Each of these stories is so disturbing. I pray for Hena's soul and I pray that she is comforted by Our Blessed Mother, who surely would have been punished herself it St. Joseph had not stepped in to protect her. Sharia law is so incompatible with Christian life and American ideals. We should fight to prevent it from being practiced in our country.
John D
2 years ago
The religion of peace and tolerance strikes again. It's ashamed how this never gets covered in the main stream media.
vance
2 years ago
Another example of the "Religion of Peace and Tolerance". There are non-Muslim folks in the Liberal Establishment who are pushing for sharia law here in America. Just recently, a muslim man in South Carolina was in the news for brutally murdering his teenage daughter. He was given a light sentence.
eithena
2 years ago
Shame Shame, that is not justices, Why can the world stop when it comes to the price of oil but when Innocent's crys out the world seems to turn away

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