- 26k 797 complaints received in call 999 last yr
- 1 lakh 55k 438 cases under trial in 99 tribunals
- From 2002 to 2016, only 3 Pc of cases were sentenced
“Govt always vocal against women abuse. Police are taking action. Media should play a role in creating awareness.”
Asaduzzaman Khan , Home Minister
There was a dispute over dowry. At one point, husband Al-Amin took petrol from his motorcycle and set his wife Shahida Akhtar (26) on fire. Their two-year-old daughter Alifa was next to them. She burns. Al-Amin also caught fire.
The incident took place in Sarail Upazila of Brahmanbaria on December 11 last year. Three people who were burnt in the fire were brought to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Shahida died 13 hours after the incident while undergoing treatment there. Al-Amin is now in Brahmanbaria District Jail.
Apart from Alifa, Shahida has another son. Two children are growing up without a mother. Shahida's elder brother. Javed Munsi said March 30 that Al-Amin's family left the village with Shahida's two children. They are not able to know how the two children are doing.
After the long process of trial, their suffering increases, regret remains. At some point, many people gave up hope of justice.
Shahida's death is one of the many incidents of violence against women. According to the data of the police headquarters, 18 thousand 941 cases were registered in police stations across the country last year under the Suppression of Violence against Women and Children Act. There is also a case in court. According to people who work on cases of violence against women, about 10 percent of the cases that are filed in the police station are in court. As a result, in 2023, the number of cases under the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Act will not be less than 20,000.
20 thousand cases are just a number. But to the victim woman, her children, her parents, her relatives, the wounds of torture cannot be alleviated. They have to carry the pain, the long process of the trial increases their suffering, and the regret remains. At some point, many people gave up hope of justice.
According to Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, now the citizens should also take action to create awareness to prevent violence against women. He said that the government is always vocal against women abuse. When that happens, the police are taking action. Now the mass media should also play a role in creating awareness.
If a case is filed against women, it comes in the police statistics. According to the information of the police headquarters, 16 to 25,000 cases have been filed under the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Act from 2018 to 2023. As a result, it is seen that the number of cases is 20 thousand on an average per year.
When cases of torture are serious, they come to the media. Bangladesh Mahila Parishad has compiled the information of 35 types of women abuse by going through the news published in the newspaper last year. The number of victim’s women and children was about 3 thousand. This number was more than 200 in each of the first two months of this year.
According to data compiled by human rights organization Law and Arbitration Center, last year 574 people were raped and another 33 were killed after rape. 207 people were killed by their husbands. Another 64 people were killed due to dowry. 142 women were subjected to torture for the same reason. 142 people were victims of sexual harassment. Acid has killed 10 people.
Last year, 26 thousand 797 immediate complaints were received in the National Emergency Service 999 about women abuse.
According to data from the Police Cyber Support Center for Women (PCSW), more than 12,500 complaints of fake IDs, ID hacks, fraud, mobile phone harassment and spreading offensive content have been reported online in the last 15 months.
Simin Hossain Rimi, State Minister for Women and Child Affairs said our ministry is working to create awareness, empower women and provide legal assistance to prevent violence against women. But it's not enough compared to the need, that's right.
According to data compiled by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), last year 574 people were raped and another 33 were killed after rape. 207 people were killed by their husbands. Another 64 people were killed due to dowry. 142 women were subjected to torture for the same reason. 142 people were victims of sexual harassment. Acid has killed 10 people.
On March 31, the One Stop Crisis Center located at Dhaka Medical College Hospital was found to have four victims admitted there. Among them, a woman (21) alleged that she was raped through deception. She said that a known bus driver took her home and raped her by promising to take her to Rangpur by bus from Gazipur.
There are more examples of violence against women. For example, on April 18, a young woman (21) was gang-raped with her husband in Gabtali Upazila of Bogra. The husband was held hostage at gunpoint and tortured.
According to the information obtained from the High Court sources till December 31, 1 lakh 55 thousand 438 cases are under trial in 99 women and child torture suppression tribunals across the country. The number of pending cases for more than five years is more than 34 thousand.
Dhaka University Law Department Associate Professor Taslima Yasmin was asked to elaborate the reason for the long process of the trial. She highlighted a few things: One: There is delay in getting medical certificate, DNA report (required in rape cases) after the victim files a case. As a result, there is delay in investigation and framing of charge sheet. Two: Producing witnesses became a challenge after the trial began. Three: Public prosecutors are often appointed for political reasons. Many complain of lack of transparency in handling cases on behalf of victims.
Some families are forced to go to compromise due to the fear that the case will be carried out for a long time. As it was learned in Dhaka's Women and Child Torture Prevention Tribunal-7 on February 20, an attempt is being made to compromise the case by marrying a rape victim (14) to the accused Anwarul Haque (55). During the trial, Judge Sabera Sultana Khanam objected to the marriage with the rapist.
Later, the relatives said that the accused has been in jail for two years in the rape case. The teenager gave birth to a baby girl last year. The accused's lawyer Md Ismail Bhunya said that the family of the accused and the girl are seeking a compromise through marriage.
The girl's elder sister was asked to know the reason for the compromise. She said on the phone, "My sister is very young. He has a future, family honor matters. It is becoming difficult to conduct cases day after day, to come to the court again and again.
The Ministry of Law provides legal assistance to poor men and women, laborers and inmates through the 'National Legal Aid Agency'. According to the agency's 2022-23 fiscal year report, more than 32,000 cases were helped across the country that year. However, the amount of support provided for women is not separated.
How much justice is done in cases of women abuse is known from the one-stop crisis center (OCC) of 14 medical college hospitals operated under the 'Women and Child Abuse Prevention Multispectral Program (4th Phase)' project of the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs. According to OCC data, more than 62,000 women and children have received help from them in the last 23 years in cases of physical and sexual abuse and burns. There were only 19 thousand 441 cases. Only 3 percent of these cases have resulted in convictions and less than 1 percent has been executed.
OCC legal officer Tahmina Nadira said, the case has been going on for a long time. As a result, many cannot continue the case.
Bangladesh has a low conviction rate in criminal cases. The prosecution rate in cases of violence against women is even lower. In 2018, analyzing the cases filed in Dhaka District Women and Child Torture Prevention Tribunal from 2002 to 2016 showed that only 3 percent of the cases were sentenced.
Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik feels that radical changes are needed in the judicial process to reduce the tangle of cases to prevent violence against women. His suggestion, public prosecutors should be appointed step by step from the cadre service rather than appointing them on political considerations.
ZH
