Sheikh Hasina says - “It is not possible to establish women's rights and stop violence against women only by enacting laws and observing women's day. Rather there should be proper coordination at government and non-government levels." ( Daily Star, March 9, 2009 ed)

I have to applaud her for concisely and accurately summing up the inefficieny of laws and propaganda if the basic governmental roles in enforcing and ensuring are not well observed. However, it is still quite pivotal to implement social policies and regulations that will directly better the conditions, prospects, and livelihoods of Bangladeshi females. Furthermore, free mandatory education for all females, especially leading to high school and beyond is required too. Also, counseling is needed in ordered to rehabilitate victimized females back into the society where they don't have to bear the stigma of violated ones. But it is indeed assuring that the newly-elected PM is at once tackling the issues of sexism and instigating counter-measures to abate it.

Dowried Lives

Today's Daily Star (p.14 of National news) has a poignant story of a young girl named Lucky who is hospitalized because her husband and his family 'poured combustible liquid over her body' in a dispute over dowry. These forms of domestic abuse generated by dowry are frequent occurences in Bangladesh irrespective of the strides achieved in female empowerment. One of the major driving factors behind such crimes taking place continuously is the lack of adequate punishment and consequences meted out to the husband and his family. The perpetrators of these crimes need to be sufficiently punished, thereby, deterring future similar abuses. As it remains many cases similar to Lucky never make it to the papers because the victim and her family are oftentimes too sacred and shamed to voice their greivances. As a result, the criminals never have to pay for their crimes. Social policies have to be implemented where domestic abuses against females need to be properly addressed. There must be penalties like prison terms and financial fines placed upon perpetrators of these abuses. Females must be educated as to the different types of domestic abuse, so that they can recognize it and seek help when attacked. Furthermore, shelters specifically targeting abused females need to be opened in order to accomodate, counsel, and ensure that females dont end up maimed, murdered, or worse. Unless these measures are undertaken, people like Lucky will never be safe from the malicious intents of their male counterparts.

Slow but Steady

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/world/asia/03shelter.html?_r=1&hp

NY Times : Idea of Afghan's Women's Rights Taking Hold

As I was reading this article, I could not help but compare the stark similarities between Afghani women and Bangladeshi women. Granted, Bangladeshi females fare better now with the recognition of their inherent rights and identities, however, I am sure that in many rural locations the law of men still impose.

Silenced

Many stories of rape and female genital mutilation are emerging from the gates of BDR Rifles Square. Unfortunately, these stories and cases are fast spreading behind the scenes. The victims, many of them young, recently married, first-time mothers are not only traumatized by the whole ordeal but also extremely fearful of the stigma placed upon them if they dare give their accounts. As a result, many of these gang-rape crimes will go unrecorded and the perpetrators will never be fully punished for their actions. Many people say that the stigma of being a raped victim, and thereby a dishonoured woman, in addition to a murdered husband and with small children, will effectively impede these females from proceeding with their lives intact. Socially, they will always be closely identified with this tragedy. Socially they will be treated as pariahs for being raped victims. A fresh new life will be immensely difficult for them. Thus, they choose silence.

These women are opting to swallow being raped so that they can retain their identities.

Just as many rape cases conducted by Pakistani militia against Bengali women during the Liberation War of 1971 were unaccounted for and unrecorded, the BDR Massacre has effectively scarred, destroyed, and ruined the lives of the young widows and the national conscience. How can we simply let them silently consume their loss and their humiliation while we stand aside too shamed to offer them an empathetic hand?

Ordinary People

My friends, especially those residing in Dhanmondi, are numbed in grief. One friend who lives in the vicinity of Rifles Square still suffers from nightmares from witnessing army trucks rolling down her streets and hearing gun shots. Whether you are in Dhanmondi or beyond, this brutal national tragedy has taken the toll on ordinary citizens. Everyone shares the anguish, disbelief, and utter senselessness of these crimes. Justice must be meted out appropriately, lawfully, and swiftly.

And What Now..?

Less than a week after the BDR Rifles Square Massacre, discomposing bodies are still being discovered, examined, indentified, while profoundly inhumane stories of the BDR soldiers' animalistic behaviour are running rampant.

A friend voiced that we really don't know what compelled the BDR men to resort to such heinous crimes against nature. We dont really have a BDR representative explaining the whys and hows of their strategy in participating in such brtual actions. Yes, they are underpaid, mis-treated, voiceless, yet what compelled them to take up arms and murder their own fellow brothers and sisters?

Rumours of rape, mutilation, and total disregard of childrens' lives are fast gaining attention. The nation is seeking retribution for the misdeeds. I fear amidst such anger, fustration, and shock, people will forget to ask the right questions. The BDR men must have been deprived to such an extent that they opted for violence and total disregard of human lives and casualties to voice their cause? Of course, one cannot overlook the fact that a group of men segregating themselves in a camp disconnected from reality with weapons at their disposal will eventually unleash their primal animalistic natures.

You cannot rationalize their actions to understand their motives. Their execution is beyond human comprehension. No human being willingly and naturally wishes bodily harm upon another. So the question(s) remains, what drove them to pursue such an avenue of carnage?

It is time that the nation sits up and pays close attention. For too long people of lower socio-economic classes have been ignored, trampled upon, disregarded, degraded, suppressed by their affluent counterparts. Revolutions always erupt in the grassroots levels. This is a prime example. Of course not a revolution in any terms. A gruesome mutiny. But there are insightful lessons to be learned from this massacre. Suppressed humans will resort to extreme measures and animalistic violences to have their greviances addressed. It is about time that we start listening to them.

14 kids and counting

I saw the interview Nadya Suleiman gave to Ann Curry about giving birth to octuplets in addition to already having six children.It is quite bewildering that in a country where the debate still rages on and alienates and polarizes the nation regarding Roe vs Wade, the public and the media are so irked and offended by the notion that a young, single, unemployed mother can choose to bear so many children. The philosophy espoused by pro-lifers is that if conception has taken place the fetus is legally deemed as a human and therefore is privy to the same rights as other human beings. Even if the fetuses are conceived mistakenly and remains unwanted by the parents, their choices are over-ruled by the basic perogatives possessed by any human life. On that grounds, here we have a young woman, albeit unemployed and with multiple mouths to feed, being ostracized for her choice to have more kids. It is astounding that she doesn't have an army of pro-lifers applauding and championing her courage, dedication, and love in wanting to bring more children into the world. Now the government is investigating if her medical doctors have violated any ethics code by implanting so many eggs in her uterus, and the pundits are debating whether her unemployment status makes her selfish in wanting and bearing more children that according to them she is unable to provide for. Lest they forget, she does live with her parents who have been supporting her prior six children and her all this time. But no, her parents' home and help have been labeled 'modest' at best. Again, the mother's rights and opinions are quickly trampled upon and discarded by the moral opinion generated by the public. The simple fact that she wants those children and she is brave enough to give them life and love is not good enough anymore. Her motives, her mental health, her ability to provide for them or lack of are put under the microscope. Now she is put on a soapbox where she has to publicly defend herself and her actions. She is being judged for wanting children. Imagine what the public would have to say if Nadya decided not to keep any those children?