A bride in Bangladesh turned a centuries-old custom on its head as a way to stand up for women's rights. Khadiza Akter Khushi, 19, was photographed leading a procession of wedding guests to her groom's house before their wedding in Meherpur on Sept. The move upended the tradition in Bangladesh of the groom's party traveling to the house of the bride to begin the wedding ritual. After the wedding, the bride, according to tradition, leaves her family's home with her groom. No one will be less than the other. Khushi's now-husband, Tariqul Islam, said he supported his bride and that the couple was supported by their families and friends. Bangladesh, with a population of approximately million, is a Muslim-majority country that has a "significant history of women organizing movements to claim their rights," according to UN Women , the United Nations entity focused on gender equality and female empowerment. The country ranks high in South Asia for gender equity, but women there suffer from high rates of violence and face discrimination in family life, where they are subject to religious laws, according to UN Women. Khushi said she may be the first, but she hopes she is not the last woman in Bangladesh to start her marriage symbolically in control.


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We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. Multiple incidents of ghastly sexual violence in recent months have raised serious concerns over the safety of women and children in Bangladesh. Experts blame "a culture of impunity" for the spike in sex crimes. Bangladesh has seen a dramatic rise in the number of rape cases in recent months, say women's rights organizations. BMP came up with these figures by counting incidents reported in 14 national newspapers during the first half of the year. Compounding the problem is the Muslim-majority country's ultra-conservative society, where a rape victim is often viewed as a person without honor and stigmatized by the community.
"I did it so that other women can follow me."
Please refresh the page and retry. Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 18, who was from Feni, miles south of the capital Dhaka, was tricked into going onto a rooftop at her madrassa, or school, on April 6, where at least four people doused her in kerosene and set her alight, reported Human Rights Watch. She was attacked for refusing to back down from an earlier allegation of an attempted sexual assault against her headmaster. She died four days later from burns covering 80 percent of her body. T he police handling of her case has compounded public anger. A ccording to the BBC, she appears distressed, trying to cover her face with her hands. The video was later leaked to the local media.
Gender inequality has been improving a lot in Bangladesh is due to Mr. Rahul sai, inequalities in areas such as education and employment remain ongoing problems but women have great political freedom. In , Bangladesh was ranked out of countries on the Human Development Index [1] and 47 out countries surveyed on the Gender Inequality Index in Many of the inequalities are result of extreme poverty and traditional gender norms centred on a patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system [2] in rural areas. Bangladesh is one of six countries of the world where the number of men exceeds the number of women. Eighty-eight percent of the population adheres to Islam. This is especially true in rural Bangladesh. While labour force increase has accounted for higher percentages for females than males, terms of equality are measured in various areas beyond employment. Their status and position is also measured in terms of education, income, assets, health, and the role they play in the family and in society.