Violence Against Women

Violence against women in Bangladesh

With the world going forward with the integrated efforts of men and women, we are still in the practice of committing barbarism against women. As far as the newspaper reports and personal experiences are concerned, the incidents of women repression in our country range from eve teasing to rapping to killing in various heinous forms and manners mainly by their male counterpart.

There is no denying the fact that a girl experiences numerous hurdles and bitterness than a boy does. Facing eve teasing is a normal phenomenon of their lives on their way to schools, colleges, universities or work places. Refusal of 'so called' love or marriage proposals leads them to be victim of several inhuman activities. A report published recently says as many as 67 teenage girls were killed in Bangladesh during the last decade due to the refusal of love or marriage proposals. However, few incidents go unnoticed.

 Acid violence is not a new menace to women. We have the experience of seeing so many deformed faces due to this loathsome acid terrorism. Although the incidents of acid throwing have decreased little bit for the implementation of strict laws, other forms of torture are on the rise. Few months back, miscreants pour petrol into a sleeping teenage, an HSC examinee, and set fire leaving one third of her body burnt. We came to know about this horrific crime when she was struggling for life in the burn unit of DMCH. This is just one of the examples of how they are treated.

 Anybody living in the country with slightest sense can figure out the scenario of women repression if he just takes a look at the mass media. The news of torture and killing of wives by their brutal husbands, mainly because of dowry and spousal quarrels, is very rampant. Don't these activities turn them into beasts? Aren't they a menace to humanity?

In our male dominated society where being a boy is considered to be a privilege is largely held responsible for the discrimination against women. The obsolete mindset and setup of the society towards women has to be changed and everybody must be provided with equal opportunities. Proper education and socio-economic development triggering to empowerment are a must to develop their condition. However, the culprits found guilty of committing violence against women and violating their basic rights must be tackled with iron hand with the united efforts of state and society. How can we think of a better Bangladesh leaving half of our population in a distressed condition? 

                                                                       Sarwar Hussain

                                                                      Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering

                                                                      University of Chittagong.