Lax enforcement of laws erodes women’s rights

Morzina Akhtar has to work from early in the morning to late in the night make both ends meet. She has been working at Dula Mia Cotton Mills in Dagonbhuyan since 2014 following her divorce. The 24-year-old woman, hailing from Razarampur, has to go to the cotton mill everyday to collect her daily meals. Neither her parents nor her second husband look after her. 
After she was divorced by her first husband, her parents gave her in marriage for a second time to Ali Hossain after paying him Tk. 50,000 as dowry. But just after a year of her marriage, her husband went away to Dhaka, and since then has not returned home. 
He is now trying to divorce her without paying her anything. Morzina cannot survive without working at the garments factory. 
The president of the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA), advocate Fawzia Karim Firoze, told this correspondent that women were being harassed in many ways in the country since the existing laws are not properly implemented. 
She also emphasised that no new law was required to protect women’s and children’s rights as a number of suitable laws exists. “If all the existing laws are implemented properly, then women and children will not be undermined any further,” she added. 
However, the BNWLA president observed that divorce proceedings and guardianship of children after divorce should be amended as women are harassed before and after divorces. 
Under the present provisions, in divorce proceedings, a woman need to prove the validity of their reason for seeking a divorce in order to obtain a court order to enforce their rights. Men, on the other hand, do not need such proof—they can divorce their wives at any time without providing any reason, she noted. 

This provision should be amended by incorporating a new system in the Muslim Marriages and Divorce (Registration) Act, 1974, she argued. 
After any woman’s divorce, the guardianship of the children should be specified in the law, as there is no specific provision in any law in this respect, she pointed out. 
According to the existing laws and the Constitution, women and children are granted protection. Under the Constitution, women’s rights are protected under the broad and universal principles of equality in: 
Article 10, which provides that steps shall be taken to ensure participation of women in all spheres of national life; 
Article 19 (1), which provides that the State shall endeavour to ensure equality of opportunity to all citizens;
Article 27, which specifies that all citizens are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection;
Article 28 (1), which provides that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth; and 
Article 28 (2), which says that women shall have equal rights as men in all spheres of the State and of public life. 
As per Articles 36, 39 and 65 of the Constitution, a woman has the right to seek nomination and contest for any political post. 
In addition, Bangladesh has specific laws prohibiting certain forms of violence, including the Penal Code, 1860, the Anti-Dowry Prohibition Act 1980, the Cruelty to Women Ordinance, 1983, the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1993, and the Prevention of Repression against Women and Children Act, 2000. 
Women rights under the family laws are governed by the Muslim Family Ordinance, 1961, or the Muslim Marriages and Divorce (Registration) Act, 1974. Hindu parties are regulated by (among others) the Hindu Marriages (Disabilities Removal) Act, 1946, or the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856. Christians’ marriages come under the Christian Marriage Act 1872. 
Talking to this correspondent, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) president advocate Manzill Murshid said: “In some cases, we saw that women who turn down marriage proposals were in danger of violence from spurned men. There have been many cases of men throwing acid at women.” 
In 1990, the women and children affairs ministry set up assistance cells to help victims of violence, but the number of cells is not enough to cope with the pleas for help, he added. 
He also observed that early marriages are another obstacle in promoting women’s rights. The Majority Act, 1875, clearly states that a woman must be at least 18 years of age before she can get married. Fear of poverty, perceptions of family honour and social insecurity are some of the major reasons for early marriages. As a result, women’s right to education suffers, he noted. 
“The government should implement the existing laws strictly so that offenders receive exemplary punishment,” he noted.

Lax enforcement of laws erodes womens rights

Morzina Akhtar has to work from early in the morning to late in the night make both ends meet. She has been working at Dula Mia Cotton Mills in Dagonbhuyan since 2014 following her divorce. The 24-year-old woman, hailing from Razarampur, has to go to the cotton mill everyday to collect her daily meals. Neither her parents nor her second husband look after her. After she was divorced by her first husband, her parents gave her in marriage for a second time to Ali Hossain after paying him Tk. 50,000 as dowry. But just after a year of her marriage, her husband went away to Dhaka, and since then has not returned home. He is now trying to divorce her without paying her anything. Morzina cannot survive without working at the garments factory. The president of the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA), advocate Fawzia Karim Firoze, told this correspondent that women were being harassed in many ways in the country since the existing laws are not properly implemented. She also emphasised that no new law was required to protect womens and childrens rights as a number of suitable laws exists. If all the existing laws are implemented properly, then women and children will not be undermined any further, she added. However, the BNWLA president observed that divorce proceedings and guardianship of children after divorce should be amended as women are harassed before and after divorces. Under the present provisions, in divorce proceedings, a woman need to prove the validity of their reason for seeking a divorce in order to obtain a court order to enforce their rights. Men, on the other hand, do not need such proofthey can divorce their wives at any time without providing any reason, she noted. This provision should be amended by incorporating a new system in the Muslim Marriages and Divorce (Registration) Act, 1974, she argued. After any womans divorce, the guardianship of the children should be specified in the law, as there is no specific provision in any law in this respect, she pointed out. According to the existing laws and the Constitution, women and children are granted protection. Under the Constitution, womens rights are protected under the broad and universal principles of equality in: Article 10, which provides that steps shall be taken to ensure participation of women in all spheres of national life; Article 19 (1), which provides that the State shall endeavour to ensure equality of opportunity to all citizens; Article 27, which specifies that all citizens are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection; Article 28 (1), which provides that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth; and Article 28 (2), which says that women shall have equal rights as men in all spheres of the State and of public life. As per Articles 36, 39 and 65 of the Constitution, a woman has the right to seek nomination and contest for any political post. In addition, Bangladesh has specific laws prohibiting certain forms of violence, including the Penal Code, 1860, the Anti-Dowry Prohibition Act 1980, the Cruelty to Women Ordinance, 1983, the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1993, and the Prevention of Repression against Women and Children Act, 2000. Women rights under the family laws are governed by the Muslim Family Ordinance, 1961, or the Muslim Marriages and Divorce (Registration) Act, 1974. Hindu parties are regulated by (among others) the Hindu Marriages (Disabilities Removal) Act, 1946, or the Hindu Widows Remarriage Act, 1856. Christians marriages come under the Christian Marriage Act 1872. Talking to this correspondent, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) president advocate Manzill Murshid said: In some cases, we saw that women who turn down marriage proposals were in danger of violence from spurned men. There have been many cases of men throwing acid at women. In 1990, the women and children affairs ministry set up assistance cells to help victims of violence, but the number of cells is not enough to cope with the pleas for help, he added. He also observed that early marriages are another obstacle in promoting womens rights. The Majority Act, 1875, clearly states that a woman must be at least 18 years of age before she can get married. Fear of poverty, perceptions of family honour and social insecurity are some of the major reasons for early marriages. As a result, womens right to education suffers, he noted. The government should implement the existing laws strictly so that offenders receive exemplary punishment, he noted.