Dhaka, March 11 -- The streets of Shahbagh were filled with passionate voices and powerful slogans on Tuesday as students from 20 different colleges in Dhaka staged a dawn-to-dusk blockade, demanding justice for rape victims and calling for stronger punishment for the perpetrators.

The protest, which took place in front of the National Museum, was sparked by the recent rape of an eight-year-old girl in Magura and ongoing incidents of sexual violence against women across the country. The students, who rallied under the banner "Raise Your Voice Again, Dig the Rapists' Graves," expressed their outrage over the increasing number of such heinous crimes and demanded immediate action from the government.

Participating students came from severa...