Just a few days ago, Ramisa was a bright, innocent child, full of life. Today, she is just another statistic in the headlines, a heartbreaking memory for her grieving parents. She is gone, the victim of a brutal rape. Meanwhile, a video of an attempted rape of a female student at Jahangirnagar University is viral on social media. Horrific incidents like these are happening across the country daily, faster than we can even keep track of. We scream, we protest, we demand the death penalty. We want justice.
But why, even after justice is served, does the cycle never stop? Why does a new Ramisa, or another terrified university student, keep becoming the face of a fresh tragedy every single day? The answer is simple: We demand legal justice, but where is the accountability from our community leaders to make this society livable in the first place?
Sure, the legal process will take its course. The perpetrator has been caught, and maybe they will be punished. But no court verdict can bring Ramisa back. A flower that has been crushed will never bloom again. That is why, as crucial as justice is, prevention is even more urgent before another life is destroyed.
Prevention isn’t just the job of the police. It falls on every community organisation, our so-called ‘society leaders’, educational institutions, parents, religious leaders, and even our next-door neighbours. If we leave everything to law enforcement and the courts, the monsters living among us will never be stopped. When our community leaders, academics, cultural figures, and local influencers stay silent, their silence looks a lot like approval.
Let’s be honest: our society still reacts to violence against women and children by asking toxic questions. “What was she wearing?” “Where was she going?” “Why was she out late?” Before anyone even voices outrage against the criminal, the victim-blaming starts. And when community leaders stay quiet, criminals get bolder.
If the local community leaders and teachers’ representatives in our neighbourhoods spoke up instantly against every single incident, and if they actually stood by the victims, criminals would realise one thing very quickly: this society will no longer shelter them.
What local organisations and cultural groups can do
Neighbourhood organisations need to hold regular safety meetings regarding women and children. Cultural groups should use plays, music, street theatres, and community gatherings to teach children about ‘good touch and bad touch’. Leaders must also push for mandatory safety and consent education in schools and colleges.
The Jahangirnagar University incident proves that even university campuses aren’t safe. Leaders need to step up and ensure CCTV cameras, proper lighting, police patrols, and quick accountability systems are active in every campus, park, and public transport hub.
Local leaders and civic organisations should form a ‘Women and Child Safety Task Force’ at the ward level in every police jurisdiction. This committee can monitor police delays, report incidents, and offer immediate legal support to victims’ families.
Our biggest failure is how society isolates victims after a crime. Community leaders must take charge to ensure that the victim or their family isn’t socially boycotted. They need help getting back to school, finding jobs, and receiving mental health counselling.
Too often, rapists get out on bail and walk freely around the neighbourhood. In fact, the perpetrator in this recent case, Sohel Rana, had committed a similar crime before and was out on bail. If local organisations publicly boycott these individuals, and if their own families hold them accountable, the chances of repeat offences drop drastically.
I know many will argue that justice will eventually be served. But again, that won’t bring life back. No verdict can undo the trauma or resurrect the dead.
Being a community leader isn’t about sitting on a judge’s bench; it’s about being the conscience of the neighbourhood. Anyone with an active conscience can help end this brutality, not just with words, but with action. We can completely push back against violence if our social and cultural spaces actively cultivate a culture of safety.
You cannot fix a society just by passing laws or handing out death sentences. Real change happens in human mindsets, social norms, and how responsibly we treat one another.
Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a neighbour, a banker, a doctor, a journalist, an artist, or a politician, you are a part of this society. One word from you, one protest, or one proactive step could save a life.
We need to make a promise today: No more lives will be cut short. We will demand justice, but we will also build a shield of prevention. This time, the responsibility shouldn’t just fall on the state. Society itself must take charge.
It starts today. Right in our own neighbourhoods.
We must build a society where families no longer have to cry for their lost children, and students no longer have to live in fear, a society where everyone’s conscience is finally awake.
The writer is the Managing Editor, TIMES of Bangladesh
