Advocate Shahanur Islam
On April 26, 2025, in Faridganj, Chandpur, two teenage girls—Arohi and Ritu—expressed their mutual love and attempted to ‘marry’ each other on their own initiative. That was their "crime." In the eyes of society, their families, and even the state, their relationship was seen as illegal, immoral, and perverse. As a result, instead of validating their love, they were subjected to persecution.
Pressured by local Islamic fundamentalist groups, their families handed them over to the police. The police, instead of fulfilling their social and legal duties, merely warned them strictly to ensure such an incident would not happen again and returned them to their families the next day—essentially allowing society and religious groups to take over the ‘responsibility’ of correcting them. The state, in this instance, remained a silent spectator, and law enforcement effectively became complicit in the persecution. This reflects the longstanding oppression and state indifference faced by lesbian women in Bangladesh.
