A woman named Chandni Akter was publicly beaten, verbally abused, forced to perform sit-ups while holding her ears, and made to recite tawba (repentance) during a village arbitration in Palashbari Upazila of Gaibandha over the marriage and cohabitation of two women. Chandni is the daughter of Ibrahim Khalil, while her partner, Laboni Akter, is the daughter of Taju Mia from Hijolgari village under Palashbari Municipality. Chandni used the name “Russell” and wore clothing typically associated with men. Chandni and Laboni married on 15 April 2026 and subsequently lived together for approximately five months. After their marriage and cohabitation became known to their families and local residents, a dispute arose in the community. In response, a local arbitration meeting was convened after Friday prayers on 9 October 2026 in Basudebpur village, Barisal Union, Palashbari Upazila. Local residents, the mosque imam, members of the mosque committee, and others attended the arbitration, where Chandni and Laboni’s relationship was discussed. At one point, the two were separated and Laboni was returned to her family. Chandni was then subjected to physical and verbal abuse in front of those present at the arbitration.

During the arbitration, Mahfuz Ahmed, Joint Convener of the Palashbari Upazila Jubo Dal, beat Chandni with a bamboo cane. According to eyewitness accounts, she was also forced to perform sit-ups while holding her ears, while several local residents said that she was beaten publicly for approximately 20 minutes. A video of the abuse later circulated on Facebook. In the footage, Mahfuz Ahmed can be seen repeatedly striking Chandni with a cane and can be heard using abusive language while beating her. During the physical abuse, Chandni was made to recite tawba, compelled to pledge that she would not wear trousers in the future, and instructed to change the way she dressed. Same-sex marriage between women was described to her as being against religion and Sharia, and she was told to refrain from such marriage and relationships. The arbitration therefore did not end with separating Chandni and Laboni; Chandni was also publicly subjected to physical assault and verbal abuse, made to repent on religious grounds, and compelled to make commitments concerning what she would wear and how she would conduct herself in the future.

Mahfuz Ahmed later acknowledged that he had been present at the arbitration and had beaten Chandni. Mahfuz Ahmed claimed that Chandni had long been involved in various “immoral activities.” He alleged that women had been brought to Chandni’s house at different times for “immoral activities.” He further said that Chandni, being a woman, marrying another woman had caused anger among villagers. According to Mahfuz, Chandni was made to recite tawba and was “disciplined” with a fresh bamboo cane in the presence of local residents in the interest of maintaining peace and order in the area. Some local residents, however, objected to Chandni being publicly beaten in the name of arbitration. They said that if there were allegations against someone, the matter should have been reported to law enforcement and that publicly subjecting someone to physical humiliation in the name of adjudication or dispute resolution was unacceptable.

After the video of the abuse circulated on social media, the incident came to the attention of the police. Sarwar Alam Khan, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Palashbari Police Station, said that he had seen the incident on social media and that the matter was being investigated. As of 10 October, no complaint had been filed with the police regarding the incident. He nevertheless stated that no one had the right to beat another person in this manner and that legal action would be taken if a complaint was received. Among local representatives, Ashraful Islam, member of Ward No. 3 of Barisal Union, said that he had heard about the two women marrying and living together but had not been present at the arbitration. Nazrul Islam, Chairman of Barisal Union Parishad, also said that he had not previously known about the incident and learned of it from journalists.