A case has been filed against the husband and mother-in-law of an eighth-grade schoolgirl who died from excessive bleeding from her genitals within about a month of her marriage in Tangail.
Nuru Miah, father of Nurnahar, the 14-year-old girl, filed the case with Basail police station on Tuesday.
The accused, Rajib Khan, the husband, and Bilkis Begum, the mother-in-law of the girl were sued because of their negligence in the matter that led to the girl’s eventual death, the case statement says.
If the necessary medical treatment had been provided to the poor girl --as she had been bleeding for a month and even then forced to have intercourse with her husband-- her death could have been avoided, the case statement further mentions.
Contacted, Harunur Rashid, officer-in-charge of Basail police station said: “The accused people have been on the run since the incident. We are waiting for the post-mortem report to arrive so that we can take proper legal action against them.”
Eighth grader Nurnahar, 14, succumbed to her injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Sunday.
She was married to Rajib Khan, 34, son of Abdur Rashid from Fulki Paschimpara village in Basail.
The girl’s grandfather Lal Khan said his granddaughter, before her death, told him at the hospital: “Although I begged for my life, cried and told my husband that I was bleeding and struggling to breathe, he still did not leave me alone. He [Rajib] said this was normal at the beginning and everything would be okay in a few days.”
Nurnahar’s father said: “I called Rajib’s father a few times. He said, ‘What can I do? You people make sure she gets her treatment’.”
Alleging that Nurnahar’s in-laws did not check on her, the father said Rajib left the hospital right after admitting Nurnahar there.
Rajib said: “I had sex with her for five to six days after marriage. She said she was having pain and bleeding from her genitals. We informed our guardians of the matter.”
Advocate Ataur Rahman Azad, general secretary of the Bangladesh Human Rights Implementation Agency, said: “The incident is inhumane. This is a result of child marriage. If they had provided medical treatment for her immediately, the girl would not have died.”
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shamsun Nahar Shapna told Dhaka Tribune: “I have heard that an eighth grade student has died as a result of child marriage. Whether the girl's death was due to child marriage or some other reason can be said after investigation.
“However, it is very sad if she died as a consequence of child marriage. Not just laws, but social awareness is also needed to eradicate child marriage. Everyone in society has to contribute in this regard,” she said.
Nurnahar was a student of Kalia Vidyalaya in Kalia village in Tangail's Basail upazila.
The girl's poverty-stricken family was tempted to marry off their daughter to Rajib as he worked in the United Arab Emirates, according to locals and the victim's family.
As Nurnahar was underage, the marriage was not officially registered. She was married off 34 days before her death.
Although she was bleeding excessively from her genitals, her husband Rajib reportedly persisted in sexual activity, disregarding the girl's need for immediate medical attention.
As her condition deteriorated, she was first taken to a clinic in Tangail and then shifted to Kumudini Hospital in Mirzapur. She was later transferred to the DMCH, where she died early on Sunday.
Basail Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Firozur Rahman said bleeding was a possibility during sexual encounters at an early age. If such a condition occurred, immediate medical attention was necessary.
