No precedent of any woman being executed in the country

Under Bangladeshi law, the maximum punishment for a crime is death penalty. As of Monday, November 17, the number of death-row inmates in all prisons across the country stands at 2,594. Among them, 94 are women and the rest are men. However, in the 54 years since independence, no death sentence has ever been carried out against a woman, according to prison sources.

Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Md Motaher Hossain said, “Many believe that death-row inmates are kept in the condemned cell. We keep inmates sentenced to death in designated cells. Some cells hold one prisoner, while others hold more than one. But no woman’s death sentence has ever been carried out in the country.”

Prison sources said that as of yesterday, the total number of inmates in prisons stands at 82,000. There are currently 14 central jails and 60 district jails. The total capacity is 42,877, meaning the current number of inmates is almost double the capacity.

Women, like men, are often found to be involved in serious crimes such as murder. When asked why no woman has ever been executed, former DIG Prisons Major retired Shamsul Hayder Siddique told the media that many people in society have a misconception that women are not executed. In reality, the law does not say that women cannot be executed. To carry out a death sentence, several legal steps must be completed. Only after that can an execution take place. However, no woman has completed all legal steps leading to execution, which is why many women remain in prison for years with death sentences that are not carried out.

He said that previously death-row inmates were not allowed to leave their cells. Under guard supervision, relatives were allowed to meet them inside the cell at set intervals, with a maximum of five family members allowed at a time. Later, this rule was changed. Now, like relatives of other inmates, the families of death-row prisoners may meet them outside the cell.

According to prison sources, among the 94 women sentenced to death currently in Bangladeshi prisons, the highest number are in the Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail in Gazipur, where 54 women inmates with death sentences are held.