Nusrat Jahan Rafi has passed away. This young woman was assaulted by her madrassa principal and protested. That in itself took a lot of courage; to file a formal complaint against the head of your school, who is also locally powerful and influential; to do so being part of a community that is heavily religious with the attendant gender conservatism.

As a result, she was set on fire by schoolmates. They took her up to the rooftop of the madrassa and set fire to her. The last few days she battled valiantly to live; her interview, where you can see her wrapped in bandages from neck to toe, was heartbreaking to watch. She must have been in unimaginable agony, eighty percent of her body burned, and still she said, "আমি...এ অন্যায়, এ অন্যায়ের প্রতিবাদ করবো, শেষ নিশ্বাস পর্যন্ত।" ("I will protest, I will protest this crime until my last breath.")

She was burned alive because she told.

Her family has reported that the local police are trying to muddy the process (http://tinyurl.com/yxklwd5m); the officer in charge initially commented they would look into whether she was attacked or this was suicide and it took several days for the police to actually bring in the principal for questioning. And yesterday, the local students and residents brought out a rally to demand the 'unconditional release' of this principal. He has, needless to say, connections with locally influential politicians. Oh, and, of course, this is not the first such accusation against him. A coworker has gone on record to say that molesting students was a regular thing he did.

Perhaps in death Nusrat will finally find some peace. At least she isn't in pain any longer.

Rest in peace, brave one.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2019/04/10/feni-madrasa-student-loses-the-battle-for-life?fbclid=IwAR1I5MsE7XODm_ilZzfDvGLP_JeiTrwA4LhfknYUasehc2-LzTIUvINv4CU

@SA Masum