‘They tied her mouth and raped her, they wanted to slit her throat, we gave our ornaments to save her’: Hindu women narrate ordeal, confirm rape of Hindu women in Bangladesh

With Islamists going door to door baying for the blood of Hindus, the anti-government protests in Bangladesh have escalated into full-fledged anti-Hindu violence. Attacks and hostility are being directed specifically towards Hindu homes and places of worship. Following the violent removal of Sheikh Hasina from office, there have been numerous instances of looting, vandalism, and arson of Hindu homes that have come to light. Hindus have been lynched and the unabated violence has engulfed several Hindu Temples in the country.

Hindu temples have been targeted in Natore, Dhamrai in Dhaka, Kalapara in Patuakhali, Shariatpur, and Faridpur, as well as houses in Jessore, Noakhali, Meherpur, Chandpur, and Khulna. Dinajpur saw the vandalisation of 40 Hindu shops.

Now, several Hindu women in Bangladesh have come forward to share their tales of horror at the hands of the rampaging Islamist mob.

In a video shared by Hindu Voice on August 8, several Hindu women living in different areas of the Pirojpur district in Bangladesh can be heard narrating their plight. One Hindu woman victim, who fell prey to the savagery, is heard saying, “They came with swords and sharp weapons. They took everything. To save our daughters, we give them everything we had.”

Hindu women have faced brutal torture in #Bangladesh.

Listen to what these Hindu women of different areas of the #Pirojpur district said.

On the night of 05/08/2024, Islamists attacked several areas of #Pirojpur Town.

Islamists attacked Hindu houses in Rayer Kathi, Bramhan… pic.twitter.com/I0AZ4oyOI6

— Hindu Voice (@HinduVoice_in) August 7, 2024

Another Hindu woman lamented, “At night, they came. They vandalised our homes and looted everything. We were hiding. They grabbed my brother-in-law’s wife and took her to another room. They raped her. Later, we recovered her; her face was tied with clothes. They wanted to cut her throat. To save her, we gave them all the gold ornaments.”

“We were sleeping. At night, they came. They were armed. They warned us saying, ‘Fifty of us have surrounded your house, there is no way you can escape.’ They looted everything. They grabbed me and took me to bed. They threatened me with murder. I pleaded with them to either spare me or kill me. They kept threatening me not to cry. They asked me to give away whatever valuables we had. I gave them all my ornaments, so they left me,” said another woman.

Attack on Hindus continues unabated in Bangladesh

Earlier, OpIndia spoke to a few Bangladeshi Hindus who told us that the dire situation is only getting worse for Hindus. Speaking to OpIndia, the Hindus in Bangladesh who spoke to OpIndia said that Jamaat-e-Islami members have been making a list of Hindu businesses and Hindu houses since the fall of Sheikh Hasina.

The Hindus, on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns also said that many are unable to move to safer locations because the Jamaat-e-Islami groups and other Islamists are roaming the streets with guns, making it impossible for them to move to safer locations.

On 5th August, it came to light that Jihadis attacked Hindus’ houses, shops and temples in Bangladesh in the guise of protests against the Sheikh Hasina government. Despite the resignation by Hasina from the Prime Minister’s post, the protests continued and so did the attack on Hindus. Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar has also expressed concerns over attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.

Earlier, OpIndia reported about the list of several attacks released by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and attacks reported by The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper. Several videos and photos of attacks on Hindus surfaced on social media.