The government has decided to scrap the provision in the 1872 Evidence Act that allows for the victim’s character to be questioned in a rape case.
The amendment bill for the law is likely to be tabled in parliament during the session in January, Law Minister Anisul Huq told the BBC Bangla.
“In addition to scrapping this provision, we have taken the initiative to amend a few other provisions,” the minister said.
He added that the amendments will take time and hence cannot be tabled in parliament this month.
Section 155 (4) of the Evidence Act reads, “When a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be shown that the prosecutrix was of generally immoral character.”
The provision has been brought to the fore during the protests triggered by the acquittal of Apan Jewellers owner’s son Shafat Ahmed and five others in a case filed over the alleged rape of two university students in Banani’s Ranitree Hotel four years ago.
The court observed that the case was filed 38 days after the incident and hence evidence of rape was not found.
The judge also recommended filing the rape case within 72 hours, which led protesters to question whether rape is legal after 72 hours.
Rights activists have argued that the provision in the Evidence Act allows for the defence to prove the plaintiff characterless in a rape trial.
Since the acquittal, rights activists have taken to the streets demanding the provision to be repealed.
“Whether a victim is getting justice depends on her character!” rights activist and Jahangirnagar University student Prapti Tapsi told the BBC Bangla.
“It means that the state itself is saying a woman is not entitled to justice if she is characterless, giving the perpetrator legal shelter,” she added.
According to rights body Ain O Shalish Kendra’s Operations chief Nina Goshwami, the defence often takes advantage of the law to pose derogatory and humiliating questions to the victim to prove her characterless.
On Thursday, during the delivery of the verdict, the judge asked the police to refrain from receiving a case if a rape victim came to the police station 72 hours after the incident. “Semen stains cannot be traced after 72 hours,” the judge observed.
In addition to acquitting the five accused, the court said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges and “wasted the court’s time”.
The two students had sex with the accused willingly and the medical report also failed to prove rape, the judge said
The court also made some observations regarding the two women’s lifestyle and physique, which enraged the rights activists.
