Law
Alter views
Who will cast the first stone?
Saira
Rahman Khan
I
am a wife, a mother and an impatient observer of the frustrations
of life. But I am a woman first. As a woman, it is easy
for me to zone into searching for women's rights and possible
violations in anything I see or read. If I see an advertisement
stating that 'women are encouraged to apply' I think 'yes,
but how sincere are the employers about this?' and 'what
will the office atmosphere be like?' and 'will the job
be flexible enough for her to handle work, home and children?'
and 'will her husband encourage her and lend a helping
hand?' I wonder if men ever think about the multifarious
tasks that women have to perform in a mad circus act.
Other little, inconsequential things such as the lack
of sufficient public restrooms (ok, toilets) for women
in government offices and dare I mention it even in the
Supreme Court, for both the women in the office and their
clients or visitors, the lack of office space, the absence
of crèche facilities for children, etc. constantly
tug at my brain-strings. The Constitution encourages the
participation of women in public life and the Government
should at least make the atmosphere welcoming and comfortable.
Or is the government not interested in doing this miniscule
bit of public service?
Hundreds,
if not thousands, of reports, articles, papers and research
documents have been written, published and disseminated
right up to the UN level regarding the situation of women
in Bangladesh. The violence faced by women in both public
and domestic life is laid open in these reports. The government
has been criticised, lambasted and even (subtly) threatened
to improve its human rights record, albeit from countries
that may have worse records but are far richer and powerful
which for some mad reason seems to justify their behaviour.
Regardless of such bombardments, why is the record of
violations against women still so high in the country?
Is it due to lack of interest? Corruption? Criminalisation
of politics? Faulty NGO tactics? Lack of government will?
Or all of the above and more? A layman might ask 'If there
are so many laws available for the protection of women,
would not be easy to prosecute men for acts of violence
against women?' If only it were so!
When
will the government start doing something to curb violence
against women? I realise there are other social and economic
factors involved in this issue- and the whole picture
needs to be improved. This may take some time but when?
In the mean while, more that 300 women are falling victim
to acid violence every year, over 200 to rape, hundreds
are being trafficked (though this is one area where we
have been bullied into behaving) and hundreds are victim
to dowry-related violence. God only knows how many are
silently bearing the brunt of domestic violence and sexual
harassment in the workplace. It is shameful to think that
we had to be externally threatened with dire consequences
if we did not 'improve' our record on trafficking in persons.
Were we really incapable of doing it on our own? Will
we need such international arm-twisting to reduce other
violations against human rights? If so, then what does
that say for Bangladesh? Has our constitution become mere
fading words on paper? Are all the laws aimed at protecting
women and children mere fairy tales?
When
will we see significant drops in the violence perpetrated
against women? It does not matter how educated a women
is, or how many girls are now studying in the free- for
-girls education system introduced by the government.
All are potential victims of violence and harassment,
whether it is mental or physical and whether it is the
uncomfortable brushing against in a crowded bus or rape.
When will the laws to punish and protect be implemented
in full?
The
author is assistant professor, School of Law, BRAC University.
