Dhaka-Sylhet highway blocked in Sarail demanding hanging of child Mim's rapists

Angry residents blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet highway and formed a human chain in Sarail, Brahmanbaria, demanding the hanging of those responsible for the rape of a child named Mim. Taking to the road to demand justice for the crime committed against the child, the protesters had a single demand — the maximum punishment for the offenders must be ensured.

The Dhaka-Sylhet highway is one of the main routes connecting the capital with the country's eastern region. By blocking that highway to stage their protest, local people made clear that they do not see this incident as an isolated crime in any way; their concern over children's safety has now turned into protest.

The demand of those who joined the human chain was clear — the rapists of Mim must be hanged. That demand was repeated again and again in banners and slogans. According to the protesters, without exemplary punishment for a crime such as child rape, the recurrence of such incidents cannot be prevented.

An atmosphere of tension and grief hung together over the area around the Sarail programme. The crime committed against a child has shaken people across the locality, and it is that feeling which forced them to protest standing at such an important place as a highway — that sentiment was evident from the nature of the protest.

Demands for speedy trial and strict punishment in cases of child abuse and rape are not new in Bangladesh. Anger spreads after every such incident, and the Sarail case has been no exception. What set this protest apart, however, was that local people did not confine themselves to statements or a protest meeting; they chose a tougher programme such as blocking a highway.

The highway blockade raised fears of suffering for vehicles and passengers travelling on the Dhaka-Sylhet route — because thousands of people from Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Brahmanbaria travel along this road every day. Yet the protesters said they had been compelled to take this course in order to press home the demand that justice for the crime against the child be ensured.

From the protest programme, demands were also raised for the swift arrest of the offenders and for speeding up the trial process. The fear that delays in investigation and trial might create an opportunity for offenders to get away also lay behind the protesters' demands, according to local discussion.

The question of child protection has come to the fore again in this incident. Unless children's safety is ensured at every level — family, educational institutions and the neighbourhood — demanding punishment alone will not solve the problem; that discussion, too, is going on alongside the Sarail protest. For now, however, the main and only strong demand of the local people is the hanging of the offenders.

The programme of blocking the Dhaka-Sylhet highway and forming a human chain has also sparked discussion across the Sylhet Division. People in different districts of the division have also voiced demands for justice for Mim on social media, spreading the Sarail protest to a wider arena.

All eyes are now on the investigation and trial process. How swiftly and firmly the legal steps against the offenders move forward will determine whether the anger of the people of Sarail subsides. For now, their protest demanding the gallows makes one thing clear — they are not willing to stop until Mim gets justice.