Bangladesh approves death penalty for rape after protests

Bangladesh has introduced the death penalty for rape after days of protests sparked by a string of sexual assaults.

Demonstrations broke out across the country after footage of a group of men stripping and attacking a woman went viral on social media.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, also faced an outcry within the ruling party’s ranks over her perceived inaction.

On Monday the government approved the capital punishment proposal at a meeting in Dhaka.

The justice minister, Anisul Huq, said the law would be put into effect by the president on Tuesday.

Previously the maximum punishment for rape was life imprisonment.

National anger over the issue has been simmering since last month when members of the ruling party’s student wing were arrested and charged in a separate gang-rape case.

Protesters in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere have demanded stiffer punishments for rape, faster trials for rapists and an end to what they see as a culture of impunity.

Some have also called for Hasina’s resignation, an unusual show of public defiance in a country where open criticism of the prime minister has become increasingly rare.

Rallies continued on Monday in central Dhaka despite heavy monsoon rains, with hundreds of people condemning the recent arrest of student leaders by authorities attempting to suppress the protests.

Bangladesh has hanged 23 people since 2013, and at least another 1,718 are on death row, according to a local rights group.