The year 2015 was a matter of concern regarding human rights with 183 extra judicial killings and 55 forced disappearances being reported in the country, according to a year-ending report by Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK). The rights organisation’s Executive Director Sultana Kamal presented the report at a news conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday. The organisation described the government’s role as being somewhat unresponsive in this regard. “After every incident, there was no response from the government. It had tried to shirk its responsibility by shifting the onus on the opposition,” Sultana said.  “We hope the government would be more effective in defending human rights in the days ahead,” she added.
Referring to the report, the ASK president said there were 151 deaths due to political violence last year as against 147 in 2014. There were 135 deaths due to lynching in 2015.
The ASK report also painted a grim picture regarding violence against women, noting that there were acid attacks on 35 women, three of whom later died. As many as 10 women had committed suicide following sexual harassments and 12 had taken their lives due to fatwas and salish.