Shameful: Bangladeshi Man Chops Off Wife's Fingers for Studying for a Degree

Human rights groups in Bangladesh have mobilized in requesting severe punishment for 30-year-old Rafiqul Islam, who has admitted to using a machete to cut off his 21-year-old wife Hawa Akther Jui's fingers on her right hand as punishment for pursuing higher education without his permission. BBC News reports the sickening news:

"The incident is one of a number of acts of domestic violence targeting educated women in recent months.

Police say that Mr Islam, who works in the United Arab Emirates, tied up his 21-year-old wife, Hawa Akther Jui, earlier this month. He then taped her mouth and cut off the five fingers.

Doctors say the fingers cannot be re-attached and it appears that Ms Akther will have to live with permanent disfigurement."

Jui told the BBC that her husband had taped her mouth shut and blindfolded her, "saying that he would give me some surprise gifts."

The Daily Star of Bangladesh reports that several hundred people of Narsingdi, organized by Narsingdi Debate Forum, made a human chain across a busy road in the city Saturday to protest the horrid crime. Hundreds of people have reportedly vistied Jui's residence every day to express empathy with her.

Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief said that Mr Islam had confessed after he was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration. Human rights groups have called for life imprisonment.

The Daily Mail reports that the attack is only the latest in a series of violent acts against educated women in the "Muslim-majority company."

In June, an unemployed man gouged out the eyes of his wife, an assistant professor at Dhaka University, apparently because he could not stand her pursuing higher studies at a Canadian University.