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Violence Against Women

To Resist is Our Constitutional Obligation

by A H Monjurul Kabir
***Some 160 years ago the world launched a successful campaign against slavery. But long after slavery was abolished in most of the world, many societies still treat women like chattel, in this case their shackles are poverty, economic dependence, lack of education, adverse social practices, inequality in the eyes of law, limited political power, limited access to fertility control etc. And if we really want to break these shackles, we must all help to lead a spirited campaign against discrimination and violence against women like the campaign which had been initiated some 160 years ago against slavery.***
***< "Women's central contribution to development is widely. recognized: women are (ne producers of food and essential products, the nurses qf the world. and the bearers and trainers of future generations. At the same time, however, many qf world's women are trapped in a vicious circle qf political powerlessness. economic marginality, social vulnerability and cultural inferiority. The resolution of this contradiction, and the breaking qf the vicious circle will be a critical step towards equality for women and a necessary step for sustainable development" — Commonwealth Secretary General. Emeka Anyaoku. Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs Meeting. Cyprus.***
WOMEN are the half of the total population of the world and the mothers of the rest. But, unfortunately they are routinely subjected to assault, rape, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, mutilation, slavery, verbal abuse even murder. Violence against women and girl children as a global phenomena varies only in its manifestations and severity. Gender violence has existed from time immemorial and continues up to the present day. Infact, violence against women and girls is the most pervasive violation of human rights in the world today. And it is so deeply embedded in cultures around the world that it is almost invisible.
In the Progress of Nations (1997), an annual score card of the social health of nations published by UNICEF, Charlotte Bunch considers a few facts that reveals an ugly picture of global violence against women.
• Roughly 60 million women who should be alive today are missing because of gender discrimination; predominantly in South and West Asia. China and North Africa.
•In the United States, where overall violent crime against women has been growing for the past two decades, a woman is physically abused by her intimate partner every nine seconds.
• In India, more than 5000 women are killed each year because their tn laws consider their dowries inadequate. A tiny percentage of the murder-: era are brought to justice, vj ro
• In som&uauttriesupfnihe Middle East and Lcittn America, husbands are often exonerated from killing an unfaithful, disobedient or willful wife on the grounds of honour.
• Rape as a weapon of war has been documented in seven countries tn recent years, though its use has been wide spread for centuries. (Bangladesh experienced this horrifying trend tn 1971, during the nine months long liberation war).
• Throwing acid to disfigure a woman's face is so common in Bangladesh that it warrants its own section of the Penal Code.
• About 2 million girls each year (6000 everyday) are geneti cally mutilated — the female equivalent of what would be amputation of all or part of the male penis.
• More than 1 million children overwhelmingly female, are forced into prostitution every year, the majority in Asia. In the wake of the AIDS epidemic, younger and younger children are being sought In the belief that they are less likely to be infected.
Some Aspects of Negativism Patience is. no doubt, a quality but if that would be a cover of male domination over the female or a mode of accep-
tance of abominable practices (over the women), then it can not be accepted in any consideration. But in every regions around this globe, women are the cruel prey of numerous unjust and discrimination. And in most cases, protest is an unknown term to women. They are prone to accept even inhuman malpractices as " their sheer bad luck! This tendency is. unfortunately a global trend. Even in a comparatively open society like the US. research shows that only 1 in 100 battered women ever reports the abuse she suffers. For tens of millions of women today, home is a locus of terror. It is not the assault of strangers that women need fear the most, but everyday brutality at the hand of relatives. friends and lovers. Infact domestic violence is tragically common place across class, education, income and ethnic
boundaries.
In many parts of the world, in the name of tradition, male dominance and female subjugation are defended and preserved as a part of Cultural heritage. Wife beating, for example, considered part of naltira)bnder •uttsKv toaskyic' vMMrlciiuopin Bangladesh, to bur utteriMls-
। may. often the 'Oortiplamis1 of wife beating are raised against the educated and progressive minded people, who are always vocal against violence and discrimination against women in various societal gathering.
Tradition also encourages considerably the practice of dowry death, in which a woman is killed because’ she is unable to meet her in-laws', demands for dowry. Like dowry death. 'Son-preference' is another insidious force directed- against particularly in South Asia Intact from tne day of their birth, girls are devalued and degraded, trapped in what the- late UNICEF Executive Director James P Grant poignantly termed the apartheid of gender
Some 160 years ago the world launched a successful campaign against slavery. But long after slavery was abolished in most of the world, many societies still treat women like chattel, in this case their shackles are poverty, economic dependence, lack of education, adverse social practices, inequality in the eyes of law, limited political power, limited access to fertility control etc. And if we really want to break these shackles, we must all help to lead a spirited campaign against discrimination and vi-
olence against women like the campaign which had been initiated some 160 years ago against slavery.
Bangladesh: The Delta of
Violence Against Women?
As already mentioned violence against women is a global phenomenon. It exists in Bangladesh as in other countries of the globe. The common dominating factors responsible
against are their unequal status in the family and society, marginalization inadequate access to resources etc. Forms of violence against women can range from mental torture to p/iysical one: rape< aefd-throwlhg, kidnapping and traf-
some
alarming forms of such torture.
Fatwa is anOthei1 perverted mode of violence against women. In Bangladesh, today, considered from a strict Islamic point of view, the practice of
'tatwa' is an anathema. It is an instrument of exploitation disguised in religious garb. It is targeted against the most vulnerable members of society to achieve social, political and economic advantage and has roots in the policies and practices of political elite who seek gain through the patronizing of anti-social, anti-development forces. Furthermore, the practice of Fatwa is not sanctioned by the law and, therefore, the sentences of death, the sen-
tances and acts of whipping and stoning (The saga of Noorjahan can be remembered) passed by some rural mullahs with the silent approval of the rural elite are criminal offenses in the eyes of law. It is a matter of ■great concern’and shame that S«rt’ifh0kd W tWrttiry thC flow of fatwa is not stopped 'rather ft IS increasing'
Violence against women generally takes in the following forms:
I. Physical violence
II. Sexual violence
III. Psychological violence
IV. Vicarious violence, i.e., violence directed against some-thing/person held dear by the victim.
All these various forms of violence may take place in private and public area, committed by the members of the family or strangers. The following forms of violence are areas ofcritical concern.
* Domestic/spousal violence:
• Violence against women at the work place:
• Trafficking in women and forced prostitution:
• Rape, molestation and sexual harassment.
Another notable feature of violence against women that deserves special attention is the active participation of the lawenforcers e.g. the police in various heinous acts of violence against women. Continual rape and death in police custody and willful extension of institutional support to the accused offenders for mere peculiar sense of belongingness stigmatize the whole scenario. The tragic death of Yasmin of Dinalpur reminds us how uncivilized the police system we have. Instead of providing security. She (Yasmin), a 13 year old girl was brutally raped and killed by three policemen. And the frequency of such brutality has been increased to a considerable state.
Following the gruesome death of Seema Chowdhury in so called 'safe custody', the much talked issue of safety of women and children in safe custody has stirred up widely In the public. The validity of judicial custody or in other words safe custody has been seriously questioned in the civil society. It is regrettable that thought there is no provision of safe custody in jail code, the Magistrate with their undefined discretionary power place women and children in safe custody. Safety of women and children is being challenged, as we see
able hostile and adverse situations where thiy easily become victims of different range of abuse and harassment. To be precise, the whole practice of safe-custody' is inhumane and
total violation of human rights. The courts allow such safe custody of women although women were the worst victims of the law enforcing agencies.
The government servants belonging to almost all concerned departments and agencies clearly lacks in gender sensiti-zatlon. The sheer mall bias in the thoughts and action of the government personnels makes women vulnerable in many ways. The honourable discharge on July 13. 1997 of four policemen charged with the rape of Seema Chowdhury once again amply pointed out the inherent flaws of the Justice delivery system and lack of gender sensitization. Again the Parliamentary Committee Report on the mysterious death of Seema Chowdhury crystallizes
the absence of gender sensitization among the members of parliament. Tne extreme indifferent attitude shown in the report in dealing with Seema's case greatly shocked many who expected a humane approach from the Parliamentary Committee comprising people’s representatives. Nobody in the police, court or the parliament raise the point that fundamental rights and the constitution was violated In Seema's case. Without a lawful ground, nobody can take anyone Into custody.
The presence/representation and participation of the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) in various world forum and conferences have been in the sharp rise since last decade. But the proportion of realization of international consensus, commitments and obligations is frustrating. The good wishes echoed in the Beijing Declaration has not yet been reflected in the millions of houses of rural and urban Bangladesh. As a consequence of this utter failure both on the part of government and the NGOs the frequency of incidents of violence against women has got an
alarming momentum.
Agenda for Action
Many people have been working for quite a long time in Bangladesh to address the acute problem of violence against women. This regional meeting on ending violence against women and girls in South Asia is another example of the type of commitment necessary. But again words and retherles are not enough. Let us use this opportunity to come up with concrete time bound actions that we can take now. The following steps can be taken on an urgent basis. .
•1. The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) is one of the signatories of the 'Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women's (CEDAW). The publication of simplified and catchy version of the CEDAW is a crucial step in the dissemination. awareness building and advocacy of the rights of women. Such simplified version should be widely circulated and propagated among the mass.
The young community like Law Watch can play a vital role in this regard. In curbing violence against women and creating mass-awareness, various socio-cultural youth organization can contribute significantly.
•2 Now-a-days the individual and institutional morality of the forces responsible for maintaining law and order e.g,. Police, Ansar. BDR etc. are on the verge of continual deterioration and to some extent collapse.
Unfortunately the members of the disciplinary forces Involve themselves in violence against women. Regular brainstorming session is a must for the forces to change their present behavioural attitude towards women. The curricula and the manual of the foundation training of different lawenforcers need wide reform and planned change. Adequate copies of the Constitution of Bangladesh CEDAW, CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child) and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) must be supplied to each of the thana all over the country. A weekly briefing seoo.un on those documents should be organised to ensure their proper utilization.
• Tobe continued
The writer is the Secretary General of Law Watch. This was ‘'Me of the background papers oj the Regional Meeting on ’Ending Violence Against Women and Girl Child in South Asia’ held tn Kathmandu, Nepal from 21st October to 25th October 1997.