Death penalty for rapists

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s cabinet yesterday approved the death penalty for rapists amid nationwide protests in the wake of a series of gang rapes and sexual assaults.

Bangladesh has had a surge of sexual crimes in recent years, with nearly 1000 incidents reported from January to September, according to human rights group AinoSalish Kendra.

Experts said tougher penalties would not be enough to tackle the problem and authorities needed to immediately address systemic problems in rape trials and the extremely low conviction rates. — Reuters