Indigenous Marma women playing in water during Sangrai, the Marma new year. Image by Aye Mang via Wikimedia Commons. On January 22, 2018, two sisters aged 19 and 14 from the indigenous Marma community were allegedly raped by members of security forces in the Rangamati district within the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region in southeast Bangladesh. Reportedly, a joint security team consisting of the Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Ansar (paramilitary auxiliary force) personnel were raiding the indigenous Marma village of Orachari in Rangamati District's Belaichari Upazila on January 22. During the raid, two stray members of the team entered a Marma home early in the morning and allegedly raped a 19-year-old girl in front of her 14-year-old sister, who was also sexually assaulted, while their parents and the little brother remained detained. The sisters were admitted to the Rangamati Sadar Hospital on January 23 for treatment and kept under close watch by security forces for several weeks while waiting for a medical report as proof of the rape and sexual assault. Queen Yan Yan of the Chakma Circle, the Royal House of Chakmas (the largest ethnic people in Rangamati) began visiting the girls to help build their case in partnership with local human rights activists. Security officials first denied the allegations. Later, they said that a particular Ansar member has been withdrawn [from service] and an investigation is ongoing. Queen Yan Yan described in an interview with the Daily Star that the sisters’ parents wanted to take them home but were waiting for the medical reports. According to the Queen's account, the girls did not want to leave, fearing their parents were being coerced to keep silent. They remained in the hospital for the following weeks. Following a writ petition by their father, a High Court bench on February 13 ordered the authorities to hand over the girls to their father. However, a custody battle ensued as human rights groups filed a stay order claiming that the girls refused to leave with their father, demanding instead to leave under the custody of Chakma Circle Chief Raja Debashish Roy, fearing for their safety. On February 15, the sisters were forcibly removed from the hospital and handed over to her parents against their wishes. The Bangladesh Indigenous Women's Network reported on the chaotic situation that ensued, including an alleged assault on Queen Yan Yan herself by state forces: Acting on a directive issued from the High Court on 15 February 2018 to take the Bilaichari victims of rape and sexual assault to the custody of their parents under police protection, police took the parents to Rangamati General Hospital. Considering their security, the victims refused to go along with their parents again. The parents even slapped the victims to make them agree. Despite that, they kept begging to go under the custody of the Chakma Circle. During that time Chakma Rani Yan Yan arrived in the hospital and the victims embraced her. The Rangamati General Hospital compound, all of a sudden, was crammed with members of the police and special branch, and plainclothes security men. In the evening, at about 7:30 pm, members of the armed forces disconnected the electricity of the hospital. Then suddenly the members of state forces covered their faces with masks, encircled Chakma Rani Yan Yan and shoved her down on the floor. When the victims were being dragged out of the hospital, she tried to resist. Then forces men slapped and punched her and shoved her down on the floor again. Considering her security, she immediately fled the hospital compound, jumping over the hospital wall. Meanwhile, the victim sisters were handed over to their parents under police custody and taken to an unknown place. Their whereabouts have not been revealed yet. In a Facebook post, Queen Yan Yan revealed that she knew about her attackers’ intentions: শেষ করতে হলে এখানে করা যাবে না, করলে হাসপাতালের বাইরে করতে হবে If you want to finish them don't do it inside the hospital, do it outside. On February 19, in a public speech during a rally comprised of traditional leaders and common people at Rajbari (King's House) premises, Queen Yan Yan spoke about the events surrounding the detention and abduction of the two Marma sisters: She declared that despite suffering threats and physical abuse, she refuses to back down from demanding justice for the Marma sisters. Queen Yan Yan also assured that she will continue to fight for the rights of the indigenous people to free them from oppression. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is an extensive hilly area covered with forests bordering India and Myanmar and is home to several tribal populations include the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Bom, Chak, Mro, Murung, Pankho, and Khumi.