By Sheela Khatun
Today, the nation is almost blind to the silent defeat of humanity. One of the degradations and painful realities of human society is infant mortality. Every year, we are losing hundreds of children, known as the future of tomorrow, due to a lack of caution and action.
Tazmin, 15 years old, in Cumilla, was first raped in a paddy field, and later, her life was taken there. 13-year-old Opprotim was killed only for an iPhone. Eight-year-old Ramisa in Dhaka was raped and murdered by her neighbour.
An eight-year-old child in Magura was raped while visiting her sister’s in-laws’ house. In less than a week of this incident, at least three children around the same age were reported in the media in different parts of the country, where most of them were raped by neighbours or close relatives.
According to UNICEF, there are 370 million women alive in the world right now, and one out of every eight women has been raped or sexually assaulted before the age of eighteen. According to the statistics of the Law and Arbitration Center, 3,438 cases of child rape have been registered in Bangladesh in the last eight years, but there are many more victims of rape. At least 539 of them are under 6 years of age, and 936 are between 7–12 years of age. According to the latest data from the Center for Law and Arbitration, at least 195 children were raped between January and June 2026. This is just about rape.
On May 6, a tragic scene in a private hospital in the capital caught everyone’s attention. Amena Begum lost her only child, who was five months old. Not one or two, but seven hundred and fifty fresh lives were lost in this survey of only 117 days.
Last May 27, just before Eid al-Adha, six newborns died in a single day in the post-delivery ward of Ad-Deen Hospital in Moghbazar of the capital. In the investigation by the Ministry of Health, the negligence of the authorities was identified as the cause of these deaths. According to the report, the presence of extra people, keeping the AC off for a long time, and a lack of proper ventilators increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and cause the deaths of children.
The most worrying thing is that most of these deaths were preventable. A vaccine, some awareness, and some effective measures would have reduced 90% of these deaths. According to the government, the vaccination programme in the country is successful, but why are children still dying of measles? Why does the regular vaccination programme not reach rural areas? And why do health centres not have adequate manpower and equipment? Even parents do not get proper information about vaccinations.
Is there a chance to avoid the death of six children in the hospital in one day as just an accident? It may not be a big mistake to call this incident an infrastructural murder. Unfortunately, these incidents reveal the true face of Bangladesh’s health sector. All the causes attributed to the children’s deaths at the hospital were not sudden events. The problems had been going on for days. At one point or another, they were visible, but unfortunately, no action was taken as a result of infrastructural failure.
The story behind almost all the accidents in Bangladesh is like this, where, after a road accident, the authorities found out that the vehicle did not have a licence; after the bridge collapsed, they found out that bamboo was used instead of reeds. The government became active only after the accident, but there was a need for proper action and implementation beforehand.
Then, there are thousands of child rape cases that have been pending for years. Though the law is supposed to solve the cases within a specified period, the reality is very grim. These cases, hanging unsolved for years, not only reduce the fear of punishment for the perpetrators but also reduce the trust of the victims in the law. But rape is not just a family or personal problem. This is our national crisis. It not only destroys the victim and her family; it also questions the judicial system and social values of the state. So, the death of six newborns in the hospital, the killing of seven-year-old Ramisa, or the loss of the parents’ only child to measles are not just stories of tragedies but of a regime where the government shakes only after the disaster.
Ensuring the safety, security, and dignity of children is one of the fundamental responsibilities of a civilised and humane state. When a child is the victim of a heinous crime such as sexual abuse, violence, or murder, it hurts not only the family but the entire nation, calling into question the effectiveness of the state’s justice system. So, not temporary protest but long-term social resistance is needed. Otherwise, there is no stopping this death march.
When we got a new government through the 2nd independence after 15 years of dictatorial rule and a bloody movement, we wanted a Bangladesh from the government of Tarique Rahman, where there is no place for a human being called a rapist; where the advanced light of treatment will reach the remote villages; the correct application of the law and its implementation will continue to build this society. Above all, where our future flowers will be safe. Only then can these carelessly falling flowers spread their fragrance at the right time.
The author is a student of World Religions and Culture at Dhaka University.
NNewsBD/TS/
