Take swift action to prevent domestic violence

A mother and father killed their own daughter in an attempt to frame the opposing party over a land dispute in Kurigram Sadar upazila on May 10, 2025. Late at night, with the help of the brother’s wife, the parents hacked their daughter Jannati Khatun, a ninth-grade student, to death using an iron rod and a machete, then left her body in a cornfield. To divert the case, they set fire to a haystack near the house. Exactly one year earlier, on February 8, 2024, an eight-year-old girl named Mariam was killed by her own mother and uncle for the same reason, a land dispute, at Ramballav village under Betagi Sankipur union of Dashmina upazila in Patuakhali. The mother, Rina Begum, dressed her daughter in new clothes and told her they were going to visit a neighbor’s house. Instead, she took her to an abandoned homestead next to their house, tied her mouth with a scarf, and the uncle beat her to death with a stick.

Two-year-old Fatema died in her mother’s arms after being repeatedly struck by her uncle with a stick at Sreepur in Gazipur in 2023. Due to the same reason of land dispute, the uncle committed the murder at the instruction of Fatema’s father, who stood by and watched the brutal killing. Children are being murdered by their own parents repeatedly. A few years ago, in another incident at Satarkul at Badda in the capital, to frame an opponent, a hired killer named Majid, under the instruction of father Zahid, lured twelve-year-old son Awsar to a paddy field near their house, drowned him in water, and then stabbed him to death. Following the example of how the child Ismail (AS) was laid down for sacrifice with a knife to the throat, many years ago in Bangladesh, a father sacrificed his own child.

What a strange world! Though danger exists everywhere in the world, children feel completely safe in the shelter of their parents; a crying child stops crying when held in the mother’s arms. Even animal offspring feel this security in their mother’s lap. Child domestic workers separated from their parents remember only their mother in times of distress. In 1971, many abandoned children raised by foreigners in great wealth later came to Bangladesh in search of their parents—some found them, some did not. No one expects betrayal of such deep reliance on parents in times of trouble. However, driven by poverty and seeing no other option, many parents kill their own children before committing suicide themselves, because they know this society may show pity to orphans, but does not let them live.

Every child murdered in a conspiracy by their parents believes, even in their final moments, that their birth-giving parents will save them. But what a strange relationship—those who brought the children into this world find satisfaction in imagining the downfall of their rivals through the tragic death of their own child. Sermons about rewards in the afterlife cannot diminish their greed and lust; to them, a piece of land is more tempting than paradise in the hereafter. For that land, they can slit their child’s throat with their own hands, or watch the agony of their child’s death at the hands of a hired killer. Of course, parents also face humiliation at the hands of their children, but in most cases, such humiliation stems from poverty.

In various countries around the world, "honour killings" occur to protect family honour—this happens in Bangladesh too. However, only in Pakistan does it appear as an epidemic. In Pakistan, a father, despite his son's disobedience by falling in love with a girl from a rival family, calmly invited his son Ghani Rehman for a final dinner with the family before declaring his death sentence. Knowing his death was near, Ghani refused the invitation and waited for death in his room. After eating, the father tied his son’s hands and feet and slaughtered him; the mother and sisters watched the blood gush from his throat and heard the groans of his death agony. In another case, 19-year-old Saba was shot and her body floated in the river by her father for the crime of falling in love and marrying in court against the family’s wishes. A short documentary based on Saba’s story won an Oscar in 2016. For the same "crime" of marrying without family consent, Farzana Parveen was beaten and stoned to death in broad daylight by a group of about 20 people, including her father, brother, and cousins in Lahore, Pakistan. British passport holder Samia Shahid was murdered by her father in Pakistan after she divorced her first husband and married another man in Britain. Her father lured her to Pakistan under various pretexts and then killed her. The strange thing is, after such honour killings, the killers’ social status often increases significantly.

Honour killings also occur in Hindu families in India. Such killings arise when marriages take place between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In 2008, for the "crime" of marrying a Muslim man, a Hindu father beheaded his daughter with an axe. A few years ago, Ankit Saxena, a Hindu photographer, was slaughtered in broad daylight on the streets of Delhi by the father and family members of a Muslim girl named Shahzadi, whom he loved. On the other hand, a poor Muslim labourer was hacked to death by a Hindu man named Shambhulal for loving a Hindu girl. The Supreme Court of India had to issue a directive stating that there is no crime in two consenting adults falling in love and getting married—regardless of their communities—in order to curb such honour killings. The ancient practice of satidaha (widow burning), which occurred many ages ago, is also considered by many to be a form of honour killing sanctioned by the larger society. In our society, even when we cannot afford to provide food, sex workers on the streets are brutally beaten—killed if possible. The primary reason behind this rage toward sex workers is the perceived need to protect social and communal honour.

In India, the founder of the Mughal Empire was Babur, followed by his son Humayun, then his son Akbar, and then his son Jahangir or Selim. When Jahangir’s son Khusrau rebelled against him and failed, Jahangir had him blinded. To secure his succession, Emperor Shah Jahan killed his elder brother Khusrau. Emperor Aurangzeb first imprisoned his younger brother Murad and later sentenced him to death through a mock trial. Aurangzeb was physically present at the beheading of his elder brother Dara Shikoh. On Aurangzeb’s orders, Dara’s severed head was paraded through the streets of Delhi, then wrapped in golden cloth, placed in a box, and sent to their father Shah Jahan. When Emperor Shah Jahan opened the box during dinner and saw the head of his beloved son, he collapsed to the floor unconscious in shock.

Was it only a struggle for power? Both Emperor Akbar and his son Jahangir were captivated by the beauty of the enchanting courtesan Anarkali. Anarkali, a dancer, was also Akbar’s concubine and bore him a son named Daniyal. Unable to accept the romantic relationship between Anarkali and his son Jahangir, Emperor Akbar had Anarkali buried alive in Lahore. When Akbar was thirteen, he agreed to the marriage proposal between his guardian Bairam Khan and his beloved Salma. However, three years after the marriage, Bairam Khan was assassinated by an attacker; shortly after his death, Akbar brought Salma into his palace as his wife. On the other hand, after ascending to power, Akbar’s son Jahangir had his lover Mehrunnisa’s husband, Sher Afghan, killed by assassins and then married Mehrunnisa himself.

The Age of Ignorance (Ayyam-e-Jahiliyyah) ended fifteen hundred years ago, yet even in today’s so-called civilized society, it is difficult to explain why teenage girls like Jannati Khatun are still being sacrificed by their own parents. In Russia, it is said that every year, countless mothers face trial for killing their own children. In the United States, reportedly one in every four mothers has the desire to kill her child. Sometimes, the motive behind child murder stems from a retaliatory mindset between husband and wife. However, in our country, it is often seen that mothers commit suicide after killing their children.

No matter how loudly people educated in religion and modern knowledge may speak, girl children still hold no real value in society. It is because of this lack of value that daughters are chosen for murder to frame opponents; because of this lack of value, in-laws continue to demand a son even after the birth of multiple daughters; and because of this lack of value, when a girl is out on the street late at night in extreme danger, she is immediately considered a “prostitute.” Not only that, if a girl is out late at night, even the police interrogate her relentlessly. Moreover, when women are publicly labeled as “prostitutes” in rallies and gatherings, it becomes clear that we still have not emerged from the Age of Ignorance.

Ziauddin Ahmed: former executive director, Bangladesh Bank