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TOPIC OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
Violence against women in Bangladesh
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topics Page no.
Introduction 4
What is violence against women 4
Forms of violence 5
Factors contributing to increased violence against women 7
Domestic violence 8
Acid violence 10
Sexual harassment 13
Rape 16
Kidnapping and abduction 19
Trafficking in women and forced prostitution 20
Dowry deaths 22
Murder 23
Suicide 25
Violence resulting from Fatwa 28
Violence at workplace 28
Violence resulting from development policies and process 29
Agencies involved in the interventions 30
Recommendations 33
Conclusion 34
References 35
INTRODUCTION:
Violence against women is one of the most wide spread yet least recognized human right problems in the world. ... In almost every society in the world, whether it is in North or South, East or West, in rich countries or poor countries, women share at least one element in common i. ... a frighteningly high proportion of violence. Violence has been largely invisible, unrecognized, under reported, unrecorded and most often tacitly condoned. The proportion is high in the countries of the Third World as well as in Bangladesh and more so in the rural areas where women become victims of discrimination and violence because of their economic and traditional dependence on men.
WHAT IS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN?
The popular notion of violence is application of physical force causing death or injury of varying degrees including assault, grievous hurt, temporary or permanent physical infirmity or rape very often causing death to the victim.
Violence against women is the violation of human rights of women. Gender violence, i. ... violence against women is now defined very broadly to include any act “involving use of force/ coercion with an intent of perpetuation/ promotion of hierarchical gender-relations in all social structures: family, community, workplace and society” (APWLD, 1990). Defined this way, it includes any violation of women’s basic rights on the ground of gender as an act of violence.
According to the Platform for Action (PFA) of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the term violence against women is “any act of gender violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion of arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or private life.” (PFA: D113)
The existing Penal Code of Bangladesh does not specifically define ‘violence against women’ or ‘sexual assault against women’. ... 1 The offence of ‘Rape’2, ‘Acid throwing’3, ‘Kidnapping or Abduction of women’4, ‘causing death or attempt to cause death or grievous hurt to the wife for dowry’5 have been treated as specific crimes of serious nature. ... Section 350 and 351 of the Bangladesh Penal Code. ... Section 375 of the Bangladesh Penal Code. ... Section 326A of the Bangladesh Penal Code. ... Section 366 of the Bangladesh Penal Code. ... Section 6 of the Cruelty to Women (Deterrent) Punishment Ordinance, 1983. ... ”
FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN:
Assaultive behavior against women may take the following forms:
i) Physical violence:
Physical violence is the most obvious and easily recognizable
phenomenon. Indeed, to many people, the term ‘violence’ is synonymous with physical violence. Physical violence includes all aggressive behavior inflicted on the body of a victim by an aggressor such as pushing, pinching, spitting, slapping, biting, punching, grabbing and pulling by the hair, chocking, burning, stabbing, throwing acid or boiling water, shooting and so on. ...
ii) Sexual violence:
Sexual violence includes physical attacks on the victim’s erogenous organs, e. ... breast and genitals, or forced sexual activity accompanied by physical violence as described earlier.
iii) Psychological violence:
Psychological violence is committed by using psychological weapons such as verbal threats of violence against the victim to degrade herself; excessive controlling, curtailing and/or disruption of routine activities such as sleeping or eating habits, social relationship, access to money, verbal insult and so on.
iv) Vicarious violence:
Vicarious violence is committed through damage or destruction of property, assault on pets or even children.
Ideally, any discussion of gender-violence should use a broad definition encompassing a wide variety of the hosts of oppression and abuses suffered by women. But in Bangladesh, psychological violence, especially among a married couple, is not given serious consideration by either the family or the police and therefore remains un-reported. ...
All these various forms of violence may take place in private and public arena, committed by family members or strangers.
Major types of violence committed against women in Bangladesh are:
1. Domestic violence:
a) Beating/ Physical abuse of married women by husbands and in-Laws. ... Acid violence
3. ... Community violence through issuance of Fatwa (religious decree, through holding an arbitration of court of village elders called Shalish) which is recently being used illegally to punish women for infringement of the moral code of conduct through public shaming, stoning/ lashing etc. ... Violation of reproduction rights (often for son-preference and faculty program implementation) are some of the specific types of violence against women found in Bangladesh.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INCREASED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN:
According to the available reports of the Ministry of Home Affairs and newspapers, all types of incidents of violence against women are increasing. The main factors, which have contributed to the increased vulnerability of women to male violence, are:
(i) a growing tendency towards acceptance of violence in the society mainly due to the certain socio-political factors;
(ii) the under questioning acceptance of patriarchal gender ideology and gender relations in all social structures, including family, community and the state;
(iii) increasing poverty and adverse conditions brought about by changing socio-economic process; and
(iv) society’s basic reluctance to drastically change patriarchal laws and policies, which perpetuate male dominance over women.
Factors responsible for increasing use of violence in the public arena:
Increasing use of violence in the public arena and a corresponding deterioration of the law and order situation has not spared women. In the last two decade, the muscleman and student ‘cadres’ of various political parties have committed various act of violence against women and escaped punishment. At the same time, there is an increase in incidence of general violence, specially purse-snatching, acid throwing, armed robbery and gunshot injuries, particularly in the urban areas. Important factors contributing to such violence in the public area are:
(a) Easier access to fire arms, acids and other lethal weapons.
(b) Increasing exposure to violence through popular reading, theaters, films and television shows, mostly modeled on foreign materials. ...
Reasons for tendency of concealing violence:
In many cases, the immediate reasons of violence are not reported. Jahan’s study on family violence indicates that reasons are not stated in 25% of cases reported in the newspaper. This tendency of concealing violence against women encourages criminals to commit more crimes. Major reasons for non-reporting or under-reporting are:
(a) the universal acceptance of gender inequality, buttressed by social and religious sanctions in favor of male dominance of women in every sphere of life,
(b) the deep-seated reverence felt for family as an institution for continuing the existing social order and values related to regulating sexual behavior, particularly female sexuality, within the bounds of marriage,
(c) the prevalent social notion of the centrality of marriage in a woman’s existence;
(d) the prevalent bias among the middle-class, who form the bulk of the law-makers, law enforcers, social norm-setters and opinion makers, for regarding domestic violence as peripheral and
(e) the widely held attitude for regarding domestic matters as ‘private’ and the resulting reluctance to interfere and intervene among third parties. ...
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
When violence is directed against a female member at home, it is precisely termed as ‘Domestic violence against women’. The stereotype expression of ‘Domestic violence’ means a violence perpetrated by man upon a women at home such as husband beating up his wife. But it is one of range of relationships in which violence takes place. A woman may be subject to domestic violence from male members, in-laws or even from another female member on whom they are dependent (i. ...
Therefore, domestic violence may be defined as under-
“Whoever being adult member of a family/ male or female, applies physical force with or without an weapon or substance and/ or causes physical and mental torture against any female member of any age living with that family in consequence of which the victim suffers actual physical or mental injury of any kind which may result in bodily and/ or psychological impairment or death shall be guilty of the offence of “Domestic Violence against Women;
Provided that nothing trifling shall be treated as an act of domestic violence.”
Domestic violence is the most serious and repugnant of all types of violence. ... At the same time, the closed family structure makes it possible for the aggressor to repeat the violence.
Types of domestic violence:
Domestic violence extends to cover both physical and psychological torture and abuse. ... depriving the women from sleep, to do things against her will through threats to herself or to her children or to those she cares for. ...
Violence towards maidservants:
Domestic violence is often committed towards maidservants of the house. ...
In practice, however, the criminal law has proved to be of little assistance to the victims of domestic violence. The police like others are not interested in the abuse of women at home seeing it as normal feature of domestic life. They see domestic violence against women as a non-criminal, marital and social problem and not as a law and order issue. ...
While under the constitution and general laws, women are entitled to equal rights and status to those of men having, in addition the special protective laws in their favor but in practice a large number of women, especially in the rural areas, cannot enjoy those rights. ... Because of this, in spite of many protective laws, there are increasing number of cases of domestic violence, dowry killings and rapes.
ACID VIOLENCE:
Acid attack is an extreme form of violence. It is now common in Bangladesh and has multiplied in frequency in recent years. ... The acid attackers in many cases are rebuffed admirer with unstable mental status, often hope to actually destroy the face of the women, they themselves desired so much. ... A case was filed against the attackers and the principal attacker was caught. ...
Prevention of acid attack:
It requires major socio-political reform, commitment in the part of administrators, lawmakers, NGO and civil society for eradicating acid violence. The following steps should be taken to eradicate acid violence:
1. ... To focus on punishment in acid violence law through radio and television. ... Journalists should draw public attention through newspaper report leading to campaign on stopping acid violence and organizing doctor, police and lawyer to provide correct news for newspaper reporting. ... Religious leaders/ Imams should motivate the community through ‘Tablig’ and informing the consequence of acid violence and what to do immediate, after acid attack etc. ...
The Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Daman Ain, 2000 is intended to address the need for more effective prosecution of perpetrators of violence against women and children than existed previously and provides redress for survivors of various manifestations of violence including acid throwing. Bangladesh government has recently enacted two laws to regulate the availability of acid and control of acid violence in 2002 too. ... For example, women are scared to walk in the streets or travel by public transport. ... Khalil took this opportunity to lodge a complaint against Simi to the local Sub-Inspector (SI). ... Being unable to take the collective harassments and insults, an angry and helpless Simi committed suicide as a protest against an unjust society that subjugates and harasses women at every pretext. ... One of the major reactions to harassment is to try to avoid the situation and therefore many women either want to or leave/ change their jobs or educational institutions. ... The problem of sexual harassment is a serious violation of women’s human rights and deserves to be treated seriously. ... Against her will. ...
Reasons:
Though is difficult to indicate the cases of the increase in the incidence of rape, some factors which appear to have impact on the conservative morals and the increasing rate of rape could be identified as urbanization and urbanism, industrialization and the growth of slums, better reporting by police, co-education and co-work, movies obscene and pornographic literature, the changing attitudes towards women and decreasing religious restrictions and changing values.
Victims of rape:
It is not only poor girls who become rape victims but even women employees are sexually humiliated and exploited by their employer, inmates by the superintendents of homes, crime suspects by police officers, patients by hospital personnel, maid-servants by their masters and wage-earners by constructors and middle-men. ...
Custodial rape:
Sexual harassment, torture and other types of abuses including custodial rape by members of Ansar, BDR and armed forces have given rise to apprehension and mistrust about the states will and commitment towards protection of women against violence. ... They apparently feel that they have a license to rape or humiliate women.
Approximate Word count = 10823
Approximate Pages = 43.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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