A desperate act of protest

We do not have words to console Halima Begum who lost both her eight-year old daughter and her husband who reportedly committed suicide by jumping before a running train near Sreepur Railway Station on April 30. We have stooped so low as a society that a father may not get a hearing from local authorities when his daughter is sexually assaulted. According to Halima Begum, her husband Hazrat Ali informed Goshinga Union Parishad member Abul Hossain about the assault on his child three months ago by a neighbour but the UP member did not take any steps. Are we then to believe that the powerless in society have no rights and they may be trampled upon as and when it pleases the high-and-mighty? 

The National Human Rights chief has stated that the police cannot avoid responsibility and a probe committee has been formed by the police to look into the incident. The UP member has reportedly been detained by the police and we urge that a thorough investigation is made on the allegation that the official indeed made no attempt to help a father protect his daughter. Should Halima Begum's allegation be proved true, it is up to law enforcers to investigate and bring to justice the individual who sexually assaulted the child, and the UP member who ignored a father's plea for help. Failure to ensure justice for Halima Begum, her husband and daughter, will seriously undermine the credibility of public representatives who are supposed to ensure security to the people they are supposed to be serving.