Police in Bangladesh have arrested the husband of a UBC graduate student who might lose her sight after a brutal assault during a visit home.
Syeed Hasan Sumon is reported to have mercilessly attacked 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.
Her husband allegedly assaulted her in front of their 5 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.
The suspect evaded capture for several days, but was detained on Wednesday. Local media are reporting that Sumon has confessed to the assault.
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.
The victim's eye tissues were badly ruptured and doctors suspect she has already lost vision in both eyes, a source close to the victim told ctvbc.ca.
Doctors have formed a medical board to consider possible medical treatments to restore contact between Monzur's retinas and brain.
Monzur 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 Wednesday.
"This tragic occasion is a poignant marker of the need to work to protect the fundamental human right of all women to pursue education."
Faculty, students and colleagues at the Vancouver campus are stunned by the brutal attack and seeking ways to support Monzur from Canada.
"Rumana is a very gentle and easy-going 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."
Dhaka University teachers, students and activists marched down the streets on Tuesday 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.
The Minister of Women's Affairs, along with other female politicians in Bangladesh, held a meeting this week about Manzur's case. That will ensure Shumon will not be treated with impunity, Shumona said.
"There is huge pressure from lawmakers so her husband doesn't get out of jail without punishment."
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.
