October 23, 2025
DHAKA – A Supreme Court lawyer has filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking directives on the government to ban the practice of marrying rape victims to their rapists — saying that it normalises sexual violence.
Advocate Md Rakibul Hassan, a resident of Sirajganj, submitted the public interest litigation today, arguing that such marriages undermine the rule of law and perpetuate the culture of impunity for heinous crimes like rape.
In his petition, Rakibul requested the High Court to issue a rule asking the authorities to explain why their inaction in preventing these marriages should not be declared illegal.
Citing various incidents, the lawyer told The Daily Star that there have been numerous cases where marriages between rapists and their victims were arranged in jail to help offenders obtain bail or avoid punishment through compromise.
These marriages effectively legitimise rape and allow perpetrators to escape justice, Rakibul said.
The petition includes several newspaper reports documenting such instances, including a recent case involving singer Mainul Ahsan Noble. Noble reportedly married the complainant in a rape case filed against him at the main gate of Keraniganj Central Jail, under the supervision of prison authorities and with court permission. The case against him remains under trial, Rakibul added.
The writ petition names as respondents the secretaries of the ministries of home, law, women and children affairs, and social welfare, as well as the inspector general of police, director general of prisons, and registrar general of the Supreme Court.
Rakibul said the High Court is expected to hold a hearing on the petition next week.