A Bangladeshi man - who is only eighth grade pass and was a migrant worker in the UAE - blindfolded his wife and chopped off her fingers when he found she had started studying for a degree without his consent. The jealous husband has been arrested.

Rafiqul Islam, 30, told his wife Hawa Akhter, 21, that he had a surprise gift for her. He tied a cloth round her head to cover her sight and taped her mouth. Then, the man asked his wife to hold her hand out. When she did so, he cut off all her five fingers. What's more, her fingers were thrown in the dustbin by one of the husband's relatives so that they can't be reattached.  

Islam had warned his wife would face "severe consequences" if she did not give up her studies. "After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me," Akhter told The Times. "Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hands. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers."

Islam has confessed to police after he was arrested in Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration. Human rights groups are furious. They want life imprisonment for the man.

"He was jealous because while he only had a grade eight standard education, she was off to college to pursue higher studies," said Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief.

Akhter wants to put behind her tragedy. Her resolve to go for higher studies remains undaunted. In her parent's house now, she is learning to write with her left hand.

Source: Khaleej Times