Do More With Reuters
Partner Services

UPDATE 1-Bangladesh Islamists protest women's inheritance law

Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:16pm IST
 
Email | Print | | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

(Adds details, quotes)

DHAKA, April 11 (Reuters) - Hundreds of members of a group campaigning for Islamic rule in Bangladesh clashed with police on Friday over a plan to give women the same inheritance rights as men.

Police fired teargas and used batons to break up the protests after members of the Islami Constitution Movement (ICM) threw rocks and stones as they emerged from Friday prayers at a mosque in the centre of the capital Dhaka, witnesses said.

A Reuters reporter said at least 100 people were injured in the protests that took place despite a ban on such gatherings under a state of emergency imposed after an army-backed interim administration took power in January last year.

Among the injured were cameramen of local television channels filming the protests and policemen, officials said. A police officer described the scene as a "virtual battlefield."

"All roads around the Baitul Mokarram mosque in the city centre were filled with white robed Muslim devotees since before noon despite strong presence of police," a witness said.

On Thursday, nearly 50 people were injured as members of the Khelafat Majlis group clashed with police in the capital over the same issue.

The activists' ire was triggered by reports of a draft law in the local media that gives equal inheritance rights, including property, to men and women.

The ICM, which is one of several groups campaigning for sharia-based laws in Bangladesh, said the proposed women's rights law was against a Koranic law of inheritance.  Continued...

People light candles at a vigil to commemorate the victims of last year's militant attacks in Mumbai, in front of the India Gate in New Delhi November 26, 2009. Mumbai held tearful memorials and police staged a show of strength on Thursday as India's financial hub marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and pushed up tensions with Pakistan. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
One Year Later

Mumbai held tearful memorials and police staged a show of strength as it marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and pushed up tensions with Pakistan.  Slideshow | Full Coverage 

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a picture of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani during an election campaign rally in Balasinor, about 90 km (56 miles) east of Ahmedabad, April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Liberhan Commission Report

The government published a long awaited report, recently leaked, accusing BJP leaders of a role in the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya.  Full Article 

Thierry Henry's handball scandal

Barcelona's Thierry Henry takes part in a training session at Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona, November 23, 2009. Barcelona and Inter Milan will play their soccer Champions League match on Tuesday. REUTERS/Albert Gea
FIFA to hold meeting

FIFA to hold an extraordinary meeting before World Cup draw to discuss Thierry Henry's handball in the qualifiers and discovery of match-fixing ring by German police.  Full Article