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Women Under Attack

Global Scenario

by Mansoor Mamoon
CONTRARY to accompanying euphoria and expectations. generally speaking, the dawn of the new millennium appears to have brought no sign of any marked improvement in the overall soclo-politico-economic condition of women the world over. Rather, as the women-folk are venturing for resurgence to have their equal and rightful share in all facets of life, their male counterparts with a myopic vision of age-old conservatism and vengeance in different countries are found to be sharpening their tools for clipping their wings so as to continually maintain their dominion over them and keep them subjugated. This had been so. roughly ten thousand years ago when agriculture was invented and marriage as a social custom gradually came into being for ensuring hereditary rights over land as well as to use women as chattel and virtual slaves for rearing up children and doing domestic chores. Ten thousand years of sufferings and struggles for securing their inalienable rights have not metamorphosed the overall condition of women till to date. Whatever progress in the emancipation of women has so far been achieved, could not proportionately trickle down to those in the lower rungs of the society and in the developing countries as will be evidenced in dispassionate review of the scenario.
Though widow marriages were introduced in the nine-leenlh century by the Hindu reformists till now not more than ten percent of the marriageable Hindu widows could find their husbands and start a new lease of Hie. The vast number of these widows are forced out of their husbands or parental homes and take shelter at various Hindu holy places like Kashi . Gaya. Beneres etc for life-long penance as Is said to have been prescribed by their religion as if such women are to be blamed for the death of their husbands These hapless widows fell prey to powerful clerics and other elements called the Pandas who often use them as sex slaves and force them to prostitution.
In the last Loksabha (the Lower House of parliament) election, the number of elected women MPs dropped from 49 to 46. A bill pertaining to allocate 33 piercent of the assembly seats was recently tabled before the Loksabha. It was supposed lo be brought during the tenure of the last Loksabha, but could not be
done as the male dominated political parties were not earnest about it . Though finally tabled, there is every doubt that it will at all be able passed. Already a number of political parties have openly voiced their opposition against the move. Their plea that women in India are not adequately politically conscious and hence appropriately qualified to seat in parliament in such a vast number smacks of gross gender discriminatory attitude. They are pleading that to begin with at best ten- percent seats should be earmarked for the women though thev constitute about half of one billion inhabitants of the country. Under such circumstances, tne fate of the bill could easily be under-
In India cases of dowry-related death, acid burn. rape, molestation and other crimes committed against women have not shown any downward swing.
In Kuwait, representatives of conservative tribal factions have voted for preventing and blocking women's from seating in the country's parliament and the move has rudely jolted the women's position in the society and retarded the progress, albeit not much, they achieved during centuries of struggle and clamor .In most of the Middle Eastern countries, women virtually enjoy no fundamental rights, bigamy is widely practiced by men. women possess no right to divorce while their husbands can divorce their wives whenever they like. Women even can not have driving licenses and travel (o foreign countries without* the permission of their husbands
Pakistan's deposed Prime Minister Newaz Sharif started enacting Sharia Law and would have completed the process had he remained In power. Many Islamic groups In Pakistan are Increasingly and vehemently clamoring lor enforcing Sharia Law fully segregating’ women and excluding them from public life.
Ehren Ln a newly industrialised multi-ethnic country like Malaysia Sharia law is very much In practice with the strict provision of covering heads and wearing anckle-leugth dresses by Muslim women.
In Turkey and Algeria, fundamentalists often target women who dare to move freely and in a carefree manner.
In Nigeria, which has a Muslim majority, one of its
thirtv six states has very recently enforced Sharia in a bid to what its Governor said "creating a society which will be a crime and sin free ideal society". As if. women are the gates to'hell. The girls will now be required to attend segregated schools and observe strict ffi-jab. Other Nigerian states are reported to be preparing to follow suit.
In Ghana. Chad and other neighbouring countries where the JO JO tribe dwells, an evil custom of handing over the girl-child to the clerics for the crimes committed by their fathers by way of penance. The crimes may be flimsy like telling" a lie. For the crime of her parents, a girl child Is permanently given over to the clerics. Thirty thousand such girlchildren are reported to be used as sex partners of the clerics and are forced to work throughout the day often without food. Only in death, they find their liberation. The custom is reminiscent of the Sevadasis or temple girls which was in vogue in ancient and medieval India.
In South Africa wife killing, child-rape, abuse and domestic violence perpetrated by male members are common practice According to a recent statistics, a wife dies at the hand of her husband in every six days and at least one child or woman Is abused in every twenty-four minutes. Very few of these crimes are reported to the police. Even there are cases of police personnel committing rape. In 1999. at least one hundred members of the country's police were charged with rape. The government has recently enacted a law to provide legal support to the haltered women. Hut the police say they remain otherwise busy and can not give full attention to the women victims. Besides, there is also dearth ol" funds for providing adequate legal cover as such cases are found to be galore.
Even in developed western countries women are also grossly discriminated. In England. the Tory Party has recently been criticized for gender discrimination despite the fact that women secured their franchise in the early nineteenth century’ at the behest of the Tory government The parly also gave Britain its first lady Prime Minister- Margaret Thatcher. In (he last general elections, the Tories gave nomination to only 16 women out of whom 10 could get elected. Compared to the Tones (he Labour Party ear-
marked ten percent of its nomination lor women .The Tory Party is alleged to put up woman candidates in such seats where the party does not have any prospect of winning. For example, a woman was put up against Prime Minister Tony Blair. From the very start, her fate was sealed. The United States is yet to elect a woman as the President of the country'.
In the Soviet Parliament a leading member lamented that after the dismemberment of the Soviet empire the country' has only one commodity to export and that is their women The same is the condition in many of the East European countries. In the WTO Conference the women found to their utter dismay that the so-called process of globalization and liberalization has grossly undermined their interests reducing them into mere commodities.
Finally, about the condition of women in Bangladesh the less said the better. From 1991 Bangladesh is continuously ruled by two women Prime Ministers. Bangladesh is probably the only country’ in the world where both the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition in Parliament are women Yet. the condition of women particularly in rural areas beggars description. All sorts ot crimes are being committed against women. Albeit women s representation at the grass roots level, the Union Parishad chairmen are resorting to even punishment by Fatwa which previously was the domain of the Mullahs. Women and children in large number (over seven thousand per year according to one statistics) are being smuggled to different countries. According to a foreign researcher (Lima by name) about two hundred thousand Rohingya women have found (heir way to Pakistan via India and are forced to prostitution to pay the exorbitant charges (about 2000 US Dollars per woman) of the traffickers The Bangladesh government, however. has refuted ihe claim of the researcher
Women, therefore, will have io go still a long wav in achieving iheir rights?In the new millennium they will be required to play a more pro-active role ana wage a relentless crusade if they hope lo have their equal share. For them awaits a rugged terrain and not a path strewn with roses.
The writer is SAARC Gold Medallist. is a former Research Scholar of IS'EAS. Singapore.