Thousands protest against rape and sexual assault in Bangladesh

Thousands of people demonstrated in Bangladesh after a report that a gang had stripped and sexually assaulted a woman in a remote southern village, and shared a video of the crime on social media.

Activists and students took to the streets of Dhaka and other towns towns on Monday, demanding the suspects be tried by special court.

The demonstrators in Dhaka announced a "black flag march" to the prime minister's office on Tuesday, to protest the rising number of incidents of rape and sexual assault in the South Asian country.

"An example should be made of the rapists to stop this crime," said Zahar Lal Roy, a leader of Bangladesh Against Rape, a platform that campaigns against sexual assault, announcing the protest. A culture of impunity means most rapists are not punished for their crimes, he said.

Four suspects were arrested on Monday, a day after the footage went viral on Facebook, showing the assault that took place in the Noakhali district, nearly 200 kilometres south-east of Dhaka.

The attack occurred at her home nearly a month ago, the victim told reporters. The video was later posted online, she said. The High Court in Dhaka asked the authorities to remove the video from the platform.

In a separate incident, five men raped a woman at a college dormitory, confining her husband in another room, in the north-eastern city of Sylhet last month. The suspects were arrested.

Non-governmental organisation Ain o Salish Kendra reported that 889 women in Bangladesh were raped between January and August this year, and 40 were killed after being attacked.    (dpa)