Husband chops off wife's fingers to stop her from furthering her education

A trusting wife thought her husband had a pleasant surprise for her when he blindfolded her, not knowing that the surprise was far from pleasant.

Hawa Akhter, 21, was told by her husband, Rafiqul Islam, 30, that he was going to give her a surprise present, so she allowed him blindfold her and tape her mouth. Just as she held out her hand to receive the gift, he cut off all five of her fingers. Afterwards, he got one of his relatives to throw the fingers in a dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them.

The tragic incident occurred in Bangladesh after Hawa began studying for a degree without his support. He had told her that there would be "severe consequences" if she did not give up her studies. He was reportedly jealous because he only had a grade eight education while she wanted to further her studies.

Mr Islam, who is a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, risks spending the rest of his life in prison as human rights groups are demanding life imprisonment for the crime.

Speaking to The Times about the traumatizing ordeal, Ms Akhter said: "After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me. Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers."

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.

"He was enraged. He was jealous because while he only had a grade eight standard education, she was off to college to pursue higher studies," said Mr Saluddin.

Ms Akhter says she is learning to write with her left hand and is determined to continue schooling. She is now back to living with her parents at their house.