Love, Lies and Death: Is Uxoricide in Bangladesh Just A Crime of Passion or Beyond?

Case-1:

Hasibul (24), a teacher at a local Madrasa, slit the throat of his wife on the day of Eid ul-Adha 2025 just before eid prayers. During the incident the wife Emi (20) was staying at her father's house. After this the husband fled away and later the wife died.  Being married for 3 years, the couple had marital issues and the husband used to charge the wife of infidelity.

Case-2:
On the afternoon of May 5, 2017, a rickshaw puller named Imam Ali (40) killed his wife Helena (27) following a disagreement about his polygamy.

Case-3:
A wealthy industrialist named Munir Hussain killed his wife Sharmin Rima because he was having an affair with a middle aged married woman named Hosne Ara Khuku. It was one of the most sensational criminal trials in the history of Bangladesh. It ended through the execution of the death sentence of Munir Hussain on 3rd July 1993.

Case-4:
On 25th May, 2025, wife Shilpi Begum(26) was hacked to death by her husband Tuhin Mia(28) over domestic disputes. They both were garment workers.

Defining uxoricide:
All the mentioned cases have different backgrounds. But they fall under the same crime called uxoricide. It means the killing of a wife by her own husband. As a special form of intimate partner homicide (IPH), it is widely studied in criminology and sociology.This crime is disturbingly common in Bangladesh despite its heinous nature. According to the statistics of Ain o Shalish Kendra (ASK), about 3,376 women were either killed or driven to suicide from 2017 to July of 2022 in Bangladesh.

Sadly, cases of homicide of family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances are not uncommon. Because, killing of close people is driven by specific motives and intentions. Yet we feel shocked every time we come across any news of uxoricide. As per sociological and religious perspectives, the husband is thought to be the protector, the sustainer, the lover and the most trusted partner in a woman's life. So uxoricide is a grave social anomaly. Sometimes it is termed as a crime of passion. Crime of passion is such a violent crime that occurs in the heat of the moment without premeditation. A strong impulse of anger or jealousy acts as the driving force here. It often tends to justify the criminal activity and mitigates the amount of the punishment. But the concern is whether calling uxoricide a crime of passion undermines the societal impact of this horrific crime or not.

Revealing the reasons- A Criminological Analysis:
Notable reasons of uxoricide include infidelity of the wife or husband as seen in Sharmin Rima case, the in-laws' support in violence and torture, demand of dowry, habitual jealousy and other domestic disputes. But all these are basically related to the socio-cultural structure and criminal psychology of human beings.

Our patriarchal society normalizes aggressive and violent behaviour in men. Having the unwritten yet pervasive power to control, some men torture their wives in the name of guidance. This reflects Power Control Theory of how male dominated society influences delinquency. The resource theory of family studies further suggests that this controlling power of men often stems from the possession of more resources like money, education and employment- making women dependent. In extreme cases, this control turns into killing. So uxoricide is not an isolated incident but the result of a series of prior events. Feminist criminology dealing with the relationship between gender and crimes explains how such gender stratification influences the happenings of different crimes. Moreover, individuals being raised in gender-biased culture or abusive households may practice violence later in life supporting the Social Learning Theory of Bandura.

The Subcultural Theory states that some subcultures justify violence against women to normalize social stigma. The Case of Emi is a glaring example of it where the wife was being suspected of infidelity. Sometimes the offender also tries to justify the crime by labeling the victim as immoral or disobedient according to Sykes and Matza’s Neutralization Theory. This can be another narrative of Emi's case. Case-2 can also be explained through this lens as the wife had shown disobedience to husband’s polygamy.

Again Strain Theory states that crimes occur when cultural goals are achieved in illegitimate ways. When a man cannot achieve enough financial stability or social recognition then his stress can result in violence. This can also act as the driving force of uxoricide. The Strain theory is mostly applicable in the case of people with lower incomes. So, the emotional and social strain of economic instability may be a silent driving factor in the killing of Shilpi mentioned in case-4 where both were garment workers.

The Routine Activity Theory is relevant to every case of uxoricide as it argues that lack of guardianship and strong institutional supervision can increase the tendency of committing crimes. As the husband is vested with the guardianship of the wife, the victim becomes more accessible to him. This explains how cohabiting with an abusive partner can cause devastating consequences.

Legal Framework in Bangladesh
In the legal context of Bangladesh, uxoricide is considered as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, 1860. Section 304B- added through an amendment- states the punishment of dowry death. Section 498A being added recently provides a legal framework relating to the cruelty of the husband and in-laws. Additionally Section 11 of the special act named Nari o Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain, 2000 (Women and Children Repression Prevention Act) prescribes the punishment of killing a woman for dowry or other reasons. The laws of Bangladesh have given special attention to Dowry cases as it is one of the leading reasons of uxoricide which is actually rooted in the socio-economic fabric that shelters economic inequality and widespread gender discrimination.

Conclusion:
Despite having related legal provisions, uxoricide still persists. Because it is not just a crime of passion, rather a crime that is deeply rooted in socio-cultural deficiencies and parochial worldviews. To address it, legal implications need to be paired with ethical considerations. Collective moral awakening, women's empowerment in the society and strict institutional supervisions can effectively combat this ongoing evil of uxoricide.


Marzia Islam Anika studies in Department of Law, Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP)
in Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka.