Bangladesh to execute rapists after protests

 Bangladesh introduced the death penalty for rape on Monday after days of protests sparked by a string of sexual assaults, the government said.Demonstrations have broken out across the country after harrowing footage of a group of men stripping and attacking a woman went viral on social media.

AFP

 

The clip sparked outrage in the South Asian country, where activists say only a tiny percentage of sexual assault victims see justice.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was also facing an internal outcry within the ruling party's ranks over her perceived inaction, before her government approved the capital punishment proposal at a meeting in Dhaka. 

Justice minister Anisul Huq told AFP the law would be put into effect by the president on Tuesday.

Previously the maximum punishment for rape was life imprisonment.