Dhaka, Feb. 20 -- A recent report by the United Nations (UN) rights office alleges that state security forces and armed Awami League (AL) supporters sexually abused women and girls during the July 2024 uprising to deter their participation in the movement.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released its fact-finding report, titled "Human Rights Violations and Abuses Related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh," from its Geneva office on February 12. The report claims that gender-based violence was systematically used as a tool to intimidate female protesters, suppress women's leadership in the movement, and reinforce patriarchal norms.

The OHCHR report describes a pattern of targeted assaul...