Bangladesh Feminist Archives (BFA) is deeply alarmed by the brutal murder of Chingma Khyang, a 27-year-old Indigenous woman and mother of three, whose body was found on May 5, 2025, in the remote Tindu area of Thanchi upazila, Bandarban. Chingma had gone to tend her jhum field in the morning but never returned. Her body was later discovered in a ditch near an under-construction road, her eyes gouged out, her head crushed, and clear signs of having been dragged.
A rape and murder case has been filed by her husband, and community members suspect involvement of Bengali construction workers working near the area, individuals Chingma had previously described as threatening. This killing has triggered protests in Bandarban, Dhaka, and across Indigenous regions, led by groups such as the Parbatya Chattogram Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP) and Durbar Nari Network, who are demanding swift justice and highlighting the persistent pattern of gendered and racialized violence faced by Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
Despite being home to 54 Indigenous communities, the Bangladeshi state continues to refuse legal recognition of the term “Indigenous,” undermining both political accountability and basic protections. Reports indicate disturbing attempts by authorities to downplay or obscure rape allegations, contributing to public distrust and reinforcing the culture of impunity Indigenous women face.
Chingma’s murder is not an isolated case. It is part of a long, unbroken pattern of settler violence, state neglect, and gendered brutality in the hills. The BFA stands in solidarity with the Chakma, Marma, Khyang, Tripura, and all Indigenous peoples resisting this erasure. We demand a transparent investigation, accountability of all perpetrators, and an end to the systemic silence that continues to devalue Indigenous women’s lives.
We remember Chingma Khyang. We will not let her story disappear.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 