A harrowing picture of violence against women and children has emerged in Nilphamari district. In the past year (2025), a total of 811 incidents of violence occurred in the district, but only 99 cases were filed in connection with these incidents. This means a vast majority of the abuse remains outside the legal process due to social stigma or other underlying factors. This information was disclosed on Tuesday afternoon during a consultation meeting organized by the project "Civic Engagement in Addressing Gender Equality and Discrimination (FACING)" at the Nilphamari Sadar Upazila Parishad conference room. The meeting was inaugurated by the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mubasshira Amatullah, with Akterul Alam Raju, President of the Upazila Citizen’s Platform, in the chair. According to data presented by Democracywatch, out of the 811 incidents of violence recorded throughout the year, 799 were cases of violence against women and 12 involved child abuse. The breakdown of these incidents includes 222 cases of physical assault, 110 cases of intimidation, 95 cases of domestic violence, 75 land-related disputes, 54 cases of financial harassment, and 50 incidents of dowry-related torture. Additionally, there were 28 attempted rapes, 23 cases of theft and snatching, 19 abductions, 16 instances of online harassment, 8 rapes, and 6 incidents of eve-teasing.
Abdus Selim, Outreach Co-ordinator of Democracywatch, stated that the data was collected from police stations, courts, women's affairs offices, union parishads, and local newspapers. However, he noted that the actual number of abuses at the field level could be much higher. The organization has identified Tupamari, Gorgram, Sangalshi, and Sonaray unions within Nilphamari Sadar Upazila as the most "vulnerable" areas regarding violence. Speakers at the meeting alleged that the lack of social resistance, the weak position of women in the social structure, and the procrastination of the legal process are the primary reasons behind the rising rate of violence. Furthermore, many families keep these incidents secret due to political influence or fear of social prestige, allowing perpetrators to go unpunished. To control the situation, speakers emphasized building social movements, preventing child marriage, and ensuring the strict application of the law.
The welcome speech was delivered by Wazed Firoz, Executive Director of Democracywatch. Other speakers included Nilphamari Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Zillur Rahman, Upazila Social Service Officer Firoz Hossain, journalist Nur Alam, former female Vice Chairman of Sadar Upazila Parishad Daulat Jahan Chhobi, and Advocate Alpana Roy. Government officials, journalists, and human rights activists attended the meeting, where they called for determining future strategies to reduce gender-based violence. The FACING project is currently operating these awareness activities in four upazilas of the district.
