Unmarried woman caned 39 times over paternity claim in Bangladesh

Dhaka, May 26 (ANI): Memories of the grainy video of a teenage girl being publicly flogged in Swat in Pakistan came rushing back when a 22-year-old unmarried woman in Bangladesh was reportedly caned 39 times for alleging a neighbor was the father of her son.

The woman has been hospitalized and is battling for her life.

The incident took place in Comilla, situated 70 kilometres east of Dhaka, The News reports.

According to the sources, local Islamic clerics ordered the woman to appear before a make shift court after she alleged that her neighbour had fathered her six-year-old son.

But the man denied having any relationship with her.

"He held a Koran in one hand and swore to the village clerics that he was not the father of the boy. The village court found him not guilty. They also issued a fatwa that the woman should be caned 39 times for lying," sources said.

Taking a serious note of the shameful incident, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered an enquiry.

Police has arrested the two clerics who issued the fatwa, and DNA testing has been arranged to determine the father of the child. (ANI)