Please help the family of a rape & burn victim

What would you imagine a typical 17-year-old doing? Having fun with friends? Planning to go to college? Exploring what life and its immense possibilities have to offer?

Marufa was also a 17-year-old living in Bogura, Bangladesh, but her life turned out to be completely different. In September 2023, a local man named Saiful Islam ruthlessly attacked Marufa when she was at home all by herself. He raped Marufa and then put her unconscious body on fire – probably to erase any evidence of the violence he committed.

Luckily or unluckily, Marufa did not die on the spot. She gained consciousness from the heat of the fire and managed to rush out of the house. It was raining heavily on that day, and the rain subsided the fire, but 24% of Marufa’s body got burned by the time her neighbors were able to rescue her and bring her to the hospital.

Even after the heavily government-subsidized care at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the cost of treatment for a burn survivor was exorbitant for Marufa’s working-class family. Her father – who was the only earning member of the family - was a construction worker. He and his wife exhausted all their savings to stay in Dhaka for one and a half months and pay for Marufa’s medications.

Some of our friends were trying to raise funds to help pay for Marufa’s treatment. We were earnestly hoping that Marufa would survive. She received a few skin graft surgeries and started showing signs of improvement. We were hopeful that she would survive the grueling treatment and that we would be able to support her through the rehabilitation process.

But Marufa’s weak body could not handle the series of physically demanding surgeries. She passed away on October 17th, 2023, during one of the skin graft surgeries.

Her story could end here, but it probably shouldn’t. What about justice? What about making sure the rapist and murderer receives the punishment he deserves? What about supporting Marufa’s younger sister, whose parents have exhausted all their savings and have nothing to support them? Marufa’s father is now struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and hasn’t been able to return to work since September 2023.

Marufa’s family has filed a criminal case, but they need financial support to pay the lawyer’s fees. They had to leave Bogura and move to a different district to protect their other daughter from the constant threats they had been receiving from the perpetrator’s friends. They need support to pay for their living daughter’s education.

Could you please consider donating to Marufa’s family and helping them bring justice and support their living daughter?

We failed to give Marufa a chance in life, but we can try to ensure a different future for her sister.

Donations can be sent to:

From Bangladesh:

Masudur Rahman (Marufa’s father)

Phone number: +8801320923105

Bank Account:

Branch and Bank: Vaiyerpukur branch, Bogra, Rupali Bank Limited

Routing number: 185100317

Account number: 4804010007860

From countries outside Bangladesh:

This GoFundMe page

For questions, please reach out to Nazmul Islam, Senior Staff Engineer, Qualcomm Incorporated, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazmul-islam-3596bb1a/

or Saydia Gulrukh, Sub-Editor and Journalist, "New Age" newspaper, Bangladesh at https://www.instagram.com/gulrukhsaydia/

News Coverage:

https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/7frpcu9usa (Attempt to burn to death after rape)

https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/odv5i9fkaa (The girl may need a hand amputation)

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/set-fire-rapist-17-yr-old-girl-dies-3447106

https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/district/uzvtzauh9a (The madrassa student from Bogura, who was burned after rape, passed away)