by William Gomes

With a kitchen knife, the woman cuts off her husband’s penis, then stabs him to death. His physical abuse and his decision to take a new wife drove her to such action. Polygamy is legal in Bangladesh but is a rapidly waning social practice. Only 10 per cent of men have more than one wife.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Her husband’s extreme physical abuse and his decision to take a fourth wife drove a woman in Bangladesh to cut off his penis with a kitchen knife and then repeatedly stabbed him to death. The incident occurred last 10 February in the village of Bogra, Gazipur District (Dhaka Division). The woman is currently being held on murder charges.

Chad Sultana, 28 (pictured), and her husband Mohammed Nazrul Islam, 45, are the main actors in this drama. He had two more wives and was planning to take a fourth one in accordance with Islamic law, even if the practice is not widespread in Bangladesh.

The couple lived in a flat. The owner of the building where the couple lived, Halim, spoke to AsiaNews about the tragedy.

“On 10 February around 3 pm, the woman cut off his penis to avenge a life of misery he had forced upon her,” he said. “She then stabbed him to death. She used a bothi, a sharp cooking knife.”

Chad Sultana was Mohammed Nazrul Islam’s third wife. She grew tired of his unfaithfulness and was opposed to his decision to marry a fourth time. The two often quarrelled and he mistreated and beat her on several occasions. He would often bate her, saying that “it was legal to marry up to four times under Islam” and that she had no right to oppose his plans.

The landlord said that the couple had a 13-year-old daughter, Mim. “Now that her father is dead and her mother is in prison, she could become destitute.”

Joydevpur police chief said that Chad Sultana is being held on charges of first-degree murder.

Polygamy is legal in Bangladesh, but is a rapidly waning social practice. It touches only 10 per cent of all adult males, much less than in other countries where it is legal.

In some cities, hefty taxes have been imposed on polygamy, with the tax increasing for each new wife a man takes.

• bangladesh
• islam
• polygamy
• murder
• equality
• rights
• women
• muslims
• poverty
• development