Daughters of a Lesser God

Land Grabbing

Land grabbing causes forced evictions and other forms of gross human rights abuses, which happen on a large scale in Africa and Asia, the Copenhagen-based organisation further reports, adding that this is driven by very strong forces and is exacerbated by the fact that many indigenous peoples suffer from a weak legal protection of their lands.

Therefore –it adds – indigenous peoples’ lands are often seen as fertile ground for natural resource exploitation since there is no ‘visible’ use or occupation of the land – or simply because the use of the land is not seen as profitable/adequate.

Brutal Sexual Violence

In some states like Bangladesh indigenous women and girls have been reportedly increasingly raped and abused in land-related conflicts, especially in militarised areas.

The case has been revealed by IWGIA, which has warned just ahead of the International Women Day on 8 March that “the latest example of brutal sexual violence against indigenous women and girls in Bangladesh sparked international attention last month, when two young indigenous Marma sisters were allegedly raped and assaulted by security forces in Rangamati Hill District.”

According to the organisation, 20 years after the government of Bangladesh signed a peace accord to solve long standing territorial and natural resources conflicts, “violence against indigenous women and girls is intensifying as a tool in the midst of the unresolved land conflict.”

Indigenous Women Raped for Land Grabbing

Unspoken Struggle

For its part, the Human Rights organisation for Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh, the Kapaeeng Foundation has reported that the incidents of violence against indigenous women have been increasing every year.

“In this densely populated country, the struggle over land and resources is extremely present in the everyday life of the communities. Rape continues to be the type of assault that indigenous women are most often victims of.”

Kapaeeng Foundation’s latest research –to be published soon– indicates that only in 2017 an estimated 56 indigenous women were sexually or physically assaulted by 75 alleged perpetrators, most of them non-indigenous.

“What is more, most of the rape victims were children and girls below 18 years old. All of this without contemplating the many cases that go unreported because the victims fear both retaliation by the offenders and social ostracism.”

On this, Pallab Chakma, Director of the Kapaeeng Foundation, stressed, “What is important to understand is that this violence is driven by unresolved land disputes. The perpetrators are part of an organised strategy to grab their lands, using terror and rape as its main weapon to suppress indigenous peoples’ claims.”

According to the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs indigenous women and girls are left alone in a fragile state of unprotectedness. “They face challenges while accessing medical treatment and legal justice, particularly in remote areas, where they navigate a justice system that does not recognise their indigenous languages and cultural traditions.”