Starting from Shahbagh at 11:59pm, participants of the ‘Shekol Bhangar Padojatra’ (march to break the shackles) paraded the city streets shouting anti-rape slogans with placards, festoons and banners.
The procession was brought out hours after the President promulgated an ordinance allowing the death penalty as the highest punishment for rape instead of life imprisonment.
The change came following waves of anti-rape demonstrations across Bangladesh which has seen a series of rape incidents in recent weeks.
Local human rights organisation Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK) has reported nearly 1,000 rape cases, more than 200 of them gang rapes, between January and September this year.
Below are some photos from Tuesday’s march.
1. A woman takes part in the torch procession wearing a mask that reads ‘we’re not silent spectators’. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
2. Hundreds of women took part in the procession. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
3. Women holding torches led the procession that started from Shahbagh. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
4. Protesters stage a sit-in in front of the Jatiya Sangshad Bhaban. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
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5. ‘No means no’— reads a placard as two women sit in the middle of the road. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
6. Protester shout anti-rape slogans. A series of rapes and violence against women in recent weeks sparked the countrywide protest. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
7. Protesters write anti-rape slogans on a wall. Photo: UNB/Abu Sufian Jewel
Read Also: Anti-rape protest: Women in Dhaka march to break the shackles