Students at the University of British Columbia are raising money and rallying in support of a colleague who was blinded after a brutal attack at the hands of her husband.
Syeed Hasan Sumon is accused of mercilessly attacking UBC graduate student and Dhaka University Assistant Professor Rumana Monzur on June 5, after she returned to Bangladesh in May to visit her family and friends.
The 33-year-old's husband allegedly assaulted her in front of their five-year-old daughter following a blazing row over Monzur's studies overseas.
"He pushed his fingers into my eyes," she told local reporters, "and dragged me by my hair on the floor." She said that her husband repeatedly bit her nose, face and throat. Surgeons say it's unlikely her vision will ever be restored.
Faculty, students and colleagues at the Vancouver campus are stunned by the brutal attack. They have lent their voice in demand of justice through Facebook groups and blogs.
"Rumana is a very gentle and easygoing person with a big heart. She is a wonderful friend," Sotonye Godwin-A. Hart, a close friend to Ms. Monzur, told ctvbc.ca.
"People in school are shocked by this news," she said. "You would never imagine something like this would happen to someone so sweet. Everybody is eager to support her here."
The suspect evaded capture for several days, but was detained on June 15. Local media are reporting that Sumon has confessed to the assault.
Soon after his arrest, Sumon told local reporters that Monzur was having an extra-marital affair in Vancouver.
Residents of Saint John's College at the University of British Columbia dismissed the allegations of infidelity through personal statements they shared with local authorities and media.
About 20 students wrote personal statements about Monzur's conduct in Canada and all agreed she was a devoted mother and a faithful wife. Their statements seem to be helping her legal case in Bangladesh.
"The statements are having an effect in Rumana's case and speculation about adultery has slightly faded away," Islam said.
Supporters around the world are signing an online petition to the Bangladesh Prime Minister asking for a speedy trial in Monzur's case.
"We are shocked that such event can happen in a country where democracy has seen lights through movements and toils under the leadership of two great female leaders," the letter says.
"We are afraid that justice might not be done; truth might be lost by the winks of the powerful."
Admitted at LabAid Specialized Hospital in Dhaka on the day of the beating, Monzur was later transferred to India to receive treatment from specialist eye surgeons.
She has returned home after doctors in India confirmed that damage in her eyes is too severe and don't expect her to recover vision.
But her family and friends have not lost hope. They want to help Monzur restore her eyesight with new possible treatments in North America, Islam told ctvbc.ca.
Monzur, a Fulbright scholar from Bangladesh, was working on a Master's degree in Political Science at UBC's Vancouver campus before the vicious assault.
The University of British Columbia has condemned the brutal attack.
"Along with all of Ms. Monzur's colleagues, friends, and instructors, I was appalled to learn of the violence she has suffered," said UBC President Stephen J. Toope in a message to the community on Tuesday.
"This tragic occasion is a poignant marker of the need to work to protect the fundamental human right of all women to pursue education."
UBC says it will try its best to help Monzur complete her Masters degree at the school in spite of the tragedy.
A peaceful rally has been organized through social media outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday, 3 p.m., to bring awareness about the vicious attack Rumana Monzur suffered and help her family pay for the growing medical bills.
"We want to support Rumana financially and emotionally. We want awareness to her case and justice to be done," Saif Islam, a UBC student and a close friend to the victim told ctvbc.ca.
Organizers are expecting over 200 people to attend the rally.
Meanwhile, Dhaka University teachers, students and activists marched down the streets in Bangladesh on June 14 calling upon the government to bring justice for Monzur.
The delayed arrest of her husband has been criticized by the High Court in Bangladesh. However, the government argues that Bangladesh is a densely populated nation and capturing criminals in hiding takes time.
"We think the police in Bangladesh are doing their best. It is hard to find someone if they want to hide in Bangladesh," Nahida Shumona, a consul at the High Commission of Bangladesh in Ottawa, told ctvbc.ca.
The case has attracted much interest in Bangladesh, where domestic violence is rarely reported.
Women members of the Bangladesh Parliament, along family members, demanded justice for Monzur in a rally Wednesday. The officials expressed solidarity and offered legal support to the victim during a visit to the hospital were she continues treatment.
"There is huge pressure from lawmakers so her husband doesn't get out of jail without punishment," Shumona told ctvbc.ca.
One in every two women is a victim of domestic violence in Bangladesh and around 60 per cent of women are subjected to torture in the hands of their husbands, a UN World Development report says.
The Bangladesh Parliament passed a bill in 2010 aimed to protect women and children from physical, sexual and psychological abuse and other forms of domestic violence.
