Dhaka-based politician from Awami League accused of years of physical abuse by his wife
In an interview with Thoughtfox, Mrs. Mahamuda Akter, the wife of Mr. Mohmmad Sumon Hossain—a Dhaka-based politician belonging to the Awami Leage party—shared her painful story of physical abuse that has been perpetrated upon her by her husband over the course of the past 14 years. Mrs. Akter, who used to teach mathematics at a kindergarten in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before she lost her job to the pandemic, also shared several photographs of her bruises she claims her husband inflicted upon her at different times (Thoughtfox has shared only some of those photographs here.) In Akter’s account, there is also a reference to Mr. Harun-Ur-Rashid Munna, who used to represent Dhaka-5 constituency on the Awami League ticket before losing the 2024 election.
The interview was conducted virtually by Dr. Piyush Mathur via Facebook Messenger over the course of August 20-September 1, 2024. The interview was lightly edited for grammar, clarity, and flow. The final text of Akter’s statements was approved by her before being published.
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Mathur: Mrs. Akter, two weeks ago you came into contact with Thoughtfox, and expressed your desire to tell the world about your long-standing abuse at the hands of your husband, Mr. Mohmmad Sumon Hossain. You have told me that Mr. Hossain had been politically active in Dhaka for many years until the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government; at the time of that government’s overthrow in early August, he was the Unit Secretary of Ward 62 within the locality of East Sheikhdi.
Could you please tell our readers about the nature of this abuse?
Akter: Where do I start the story? My husband has been torturing me physically since 2008. Up until 2010, his physical abuse of me was occasional; in that year, he became a political activist and his abuse, torture of me got worse, more frequent than previously.
Mathur: That's a very long time. What does this physical torture actually involve? I mean, what specific acts does he perpetrate on your body?
Akter: Although there were a couple of instances of his physical coercion toward me as early as 2006, he hit me on the ear so hard in February 2008 that my eardrum ruptured. Even as of now, I have no eardrum in my left ear. Since that incident, he has been hitting me whenever he believes I have done something that is not to his liking. He strikes me with anything he could find nearby—be it a stick or his waist belt or his sandals.
A photograph of Akter's injuries she claims were inflicted by her husband.
In 2012, he threw me out on the street in front of all the people and beat me like a dog—because I caught him with another woman. Subsequently, whenever I would ask him about his multiple immoral affairs, he would beat me up. But he would beat me for any simple matter just the same. For example, if he thought something was messy or untidy in the house, he would beat me (even though I kept the house clean as I used to give private tuitions to some children); he would do the same finding faults with my cooking: If the rice is a little soft, if the curry is a little hard, if the salt is too much or too little, he would beat me severely.
On April 14, 2017, I was talking to a political friend of his about his abusive behaviour toward me when he emerged from the next room and hit me on the forehead with a melamine bowl. This caused an injury on my forehead, and blood gushed out of it. I still have that cut on the side of my forehead.
Mathur: By your estimate, how many times has he hurt you physically so far?
Akter: He has beaten me severely more than 50 times. He has beaten me like a street dog. He slapped me as recently as in March this year.
Mathur: You could not possibly have consulted a physician after every single incident of beating?
Akter: True.
Mathur: That can mean that your body may have received internal injuries, including fractures, of which you are not even aware.
Akter: Correct.
The physical abuse extended to the children and Akter’s side of the family
Mathur: You have already mentioned that your husband often beat you in the presence of other family members, including your children. This constitutes emotional abuse of children. But did he also beat the children sometimes?
Akter: Yes.
A photograph of Akter's injuries she claims were inflicted by her husband.
Mathur: Did he beat any other family members?
Akter: Yes, my mother and my sister were also beaten.
Mathur: So, since 2008, you have been living in constant fear also.
Akter: Yes—and more so since 2010. Since that year, he has been my nightmare.
Mathur: The violence he has been perpetrating against you, as you allege, is nothing short of dreadful—but would you go so far as to say that you have feared for your life itself?
Akter: No.
Mathur: Why not? What gives you the confidence that he won’t escalate his violence toward you to murder?
Akter: He would never kill me on purpose. If he accidentally hits somewhere critical, then I might die.
Mathur: That is fair enough of a statement, even if far from comforting.
Husband’s relatives, local gentlemen, political bosses failed to alter Hossain’s behaviour
Mathur: How did you respond to that first serious violation by him—in February 2008—of your personal safety and dignity?
Akter: I went to his relatives, seeking for justice. They asked Sumon to apologize to me and promise to me that he would never abuse me again. I accepted their course of action, and forgave him—because I loved him so much.
Mathur: When he hit you again sometime after, did you appeal to his family again or what else did you do?
Akter: I again appealed to his relatives, and they again asked him to apologize, etc., and I again accepted that.
Mathur: When he hit you a third time, did you still look to them for a solution or simply accepted the abuse?
Akter: I still looked to his relatives for relief—as I did not dare to go to the law. My father was a simple man who had no strength to stand by me—and Sumon was a very terrible person. My father feared for the honour of our family. Also, Sumon often threatened to throw acid on my younger sister's face.
A photograph of Akter's injuries she claims were inflicted by her husband.
I had no elder brother who would protest with Sumon. As for the local gentlemen, we approached them seeking justice but did not get a fair deal from them. Many of these gentlemen worked with or under Sumon politically.
Mathur: Did you try to contact any senior members of his party regarding this abuse?
Akter: We did. They also approached the problem the same way as his relatives.
Mathur: You mean they assured you, on his behalf, that he won't be violent toward you again?
Akter: Yes. And in August 2023, after suffering for years, I even made a written complaint to Mr. Hazi Mostak Ahmed (হাজী মোস্তাক আহমেদ)—my area’s, Jatrabari, Ward Commissioner. He phoned Sumon and ‘resolved’ it as before.
Around that time, I also took my complaint personally to Mr. Harun-Ur-Rashid Munna, the then Member of Parliament representing the Dhaka-5 constituency on an Awami League ticket (He lost the 2024 election though.) He also called Sumon and warned him not to be violent toward me in the future. Sumon apologized to me again—but this was a tactic meant to pacify me for the time being.
Mathur: Do you believe that Mr. Munna was not sincere in his reprimand of your husband?
Akter: Mr. Munna was sincere enough to call Sumon in my behalf—but Sumon didn't come up to see him. Until my visit (with my mother) to him, Mr. Munna had no knowledge of the fact that Sumon had been physically abusing me, philandering, and failing to take care of me or our children. When I told Mr. Munna about all this, he called Sumon and scolded him a lot on the phone. But I believe that Mr. Munna—who was the Jatrabari Awami League president—could have punished Sumon effectively.
Despite some external guidance, a fearful Akter failed to take legal action against her husband
Mathur: What you portray is pretty horrific. Through all this, when obviously the local people witnessed some of this over the course of years, did no social activist or women's rights activist in the area come to know of this—and try to help you?
A photograph of Akter's injuries she claims were inflicted by her husband.
Akter: I informed some women’s rights workers; they asked me to take legal recourse for resolution.
Mathur: Did these workers belong to the local government or some non-governmental organization?
Akter: Non-governmental.
Mathur: Can you recall the name of that organization?
Akter: It is called Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK); it is based in Lalmatia. I talked to their staffers over the phone; they told me to go to the police station and make a general diary entry there and bring its receipt to them. But I did not have the courage to visit the police station as I feared Sumon.
In 2022, I also contacted a Supreme Court lawyer, Salma Jabin, who offered her help in filing a case against Sumon—but, again, I lacked the courage to go forward. I feared Sumon’s torture. (Jabin is retired now.) The previous year, in 2021, someone had opened a fake Facebook account with my photo on it; when Sumon saw that, he tortured me to such an extent that I could not get out of bed for days. Not only that, Sumon called the homes of the students I taught privately—and told everyone that I am characterless, that I use fake Facebook accounts to have extramarital affairs. He insults me a lot.
I also contacted Chanda Mahjabeen’s Facebook page, and received many helpful tips and some phone numbers that I could call for help, but I could not follow up on them out of my fear of Sumon. I was certain that he won’t cooperate, and I would have to face the music.
Sumon has subjected me to so many vile and terrible tortures over the years that I cannot finish describing.
In the fall of the Awami League government, Akter detects a personal ray of hope
Mathur: If you had gone to the police, would your husband have caused additional harm to you and your family?
Akter: Yes.
Mathur: So, up until now, you have not filed a complaint with the police?
Akter: I have not. He was an active leader of the ruling party, the Awami League. The police would not have listened to me.
Mathur: Did you contact any media outlet before this interview with Thoughtfox?
Akter: No.
Mathur: Given that you never reached out to the media previously, what made you decide to open up now?
Akter: With the fall of the Awami League’s government, I am just waiting for the time when Sumon, like many other leaders of his party, might be prosecuted for political reasons. Once he is arrested, I will file a case against him under the laws relevant to the prohibition of violence against women. Because of the fall of the Awami League-led government, I am getting the courage to take my chance.
Why Akter is not raring to seek a divorce from her abusive husband
Mathur: You have so far stopped short of filing for divorce from your husband; are you planning to do so now, while also filing a case of violence perpetrated on you?
Akter's letter of complaint against her husband; she submitted it to Mr. Harun-Ur-Rashid Munna and Mr. Hazi Mostak Ahmed.
Akter: I will accept the decision of the law. But he will not divorce me. If he divorces me, there are many legal obligations for him toward me, as his wife, that he can't fulfill. He wants me to divorce him—because then he won't have to obey any regular vows. But I won't do that.
Mathur: He wants you to divorce him?
Akter: Yes—he wants me to file for divorce. In my country, if a man files for divorce then he has to fulfill many obligations toward his wife and children—but if a woman files for divorce, then there are no such obligations under the law. The husband is responsible for the maintenance of his wife and children—and at the time of marriage, there is a sum of money that the man is bound to pay to his wife periodically so long as she is alive; but the wife does not have these obligations.
If I file for divorce and ask Sumon for an amicable divorce, he does not have to pay me anything.
Mathur: So, you don't want to file for divorce because it would free him from paying you maintenance?
Akter: I want him punished for all these years he has been torturing me physically and mentally. If I divorce him, he would be free from all his obligations; moreover, a father’s identity is the most important thing in my society—and my daughter is growing up.
Mathur: However, if he is convicted and imprisoned, then that, too, would cast a shadow on the daughter, as far as that goes. The other issue is that you could file for divorce after he is convicted in a court of law.
Akter: You are right, but I am trying hard to get out of the country. If he is locked up, I will leave the country with my son and daughter, and then I will not have to suffer any more problems in my children’s passports—in that the name of their father will be correct and everything would be proper. I don't have to take any more trouble to get my daughter married.
Mathur: I don't see how your divorcing him would or should affect his being punished for his alleged abuse of you that has lasted years. These are two different things, and your lawyer would advise you correctly about them.
Akter: Yes, but I don’t want to free him, as I said earlier, by filing for an amicable divorce—which is what he wants.
Mathur: Mrs. Akter, I wish you, your children all the best in your pursuit of personal justice and peace. I hope that this interview will contribute to your success in your pursuit without bringing any further risk to you. Thoughtfox will track future developments related to your situation.
Akter: Thank you. Let’s hope for the best.
