The young girls killed themselves after sexual harassment

Farzana Rahman Shampa

In 1995, a female student of Jahangirnagar University, located near capital city Dhaka, Bangladesh, was harassed by a leader of the student organization of the then ruling party. The name of the accused is Shimanta. After it was known a mass movement quickly developed at the campus with the participation of the students against this. The student leader, because of his power link, could not be tried and punished. However the strength of this movement had created the environment for that student to fight against the harassment. That enables students to initiate a big struggle against rape and harassment by the ruling party (another one) student wing leaders in 1998.

But most of the women of our society cannot get even this space to stand collectively. Continuous harassments sometimes push them even to take their own lives. Stories of young girls' committing suicide for psychological torture and sexual harassment have become more common now days. Simi, Mohima, Indrani, Fahima, Shahinur, Rumi, Alpina are some of the names who were forced to take their own lives because the social system was not supportive to them after being harassed by local mastaans (hoodlums) who live and prosper with the support and patronage from political parties in power or VIP criminals.

In our society tragedies like Simi, Mahima, Indrani, Fahima, Rumi and many others continue because here perpetrators and culprits recklessly harass the young girls irrespective of the law enforcers which give them free field and impose restrictions and constraints upon the normal life of the girls that sometimes make them feel their lives unbearable. In the table below I tried to identify and summarize some incidents and the social position of the culprits responsible to damage the lives of young girls.

The facts that have been stated above are more or less similar for innumerable reported or unreported cases. The social status of the accused is very common, they are miscreants protected by the ruling power and influential people, dare to harass or rape the young girls or torture them psychologically. The Role of the law enforcers usually gives a free field to the criminals and encourages other such individuals to harass young girls that causes more violence against women.

Where law-makers and law-enforcers protect criminals
In Simi's case, the local Sub Inspector Bashar went to her house to insult her parents and advised them to control her movements instead of taking action against the local mastaans when one of them named Khalil, used to tease and abuse Simi regularly. The Police officer, instead, filed a General Diary against Simi for slapping harasser. Simi slapped him to protest against abusing her verbally and pulling her dupatta. But the police and some people of locality took no consideration of the crime but hurled abuses at Simi and her family and organized a "Shalish" aimed at condemning her 'audacity'. The fact is: Simi wanted to help her family financially so she used to do artworks for weddings and other functions which would often make her come home late and this was her "liberal ways" which was used as excuse to abuse her verbally. The perverted behaviour of the local mastaans was not considered as an offence by the local police or leaders of the locality.

Simi committed suicide after she found all hostile around her. At first her death was filed as an "Unnatural Death" case but later it was shifted to "Public Nuisance Act' under Section 76 of DMP. The case could be stronger if it would be filed under Section 306/34, according to which if any person commits suicide, then the accused who are found involved in committing suicide shall be punished with the imprisonment of either description which may extend to10 years and liable to fine. Section 34 states that all the accused are equally guilty if several persons are involved in the crime. According to human rights lawyers the case could have been placed under Article 10 of the 'Repression of Violence against Women and Children Act 2000'. Since the case was not filed under appropriate Section it weakened the case and no significant verdict was announced. The criminals were tried for harassment of a woman, under the1976 Dhaka Metropolitan Act where it was not explicitly stated what act constitutes such sexual harassment. Therefore, on 7.11.02 the court granted bail for the accused. Recently Simi's father complained that accused had been continuously keeping his family members under threat.

When garment worker Shahinoor, went to file a case against the local terrorist Sharif, the police on duty named Baset refused to file any report and addressed her calling a prostitute. Since no case was filed, it gave an opportunity to the rapist to get rid of the case. At first police arrested the rapist but later he was freed. Another police officer stated that Shahinoor hadn't committed suicide, her death was an accident.

In Rumi's case, the case was placed under the 'Repression of Violence against Women and Children Act of 2000'. But it has been known that the detail that was given by the victim's family was written down partially by the police which might weaken the case. The accused party with the help of police has been trying to proof that Rumy was of loose characters and said that Ronny and Rumy were in love, to distort the facts. In Rumy's case it was seen that the accused was caught by the public who handed him over to the court directly instead of handing over to the police thinking that Ronny could get bail with the help of his uncle.

The causes behind
In the most cases of women oppression, the non co-operation of the police is a common experience. The ruling political party or the local influential persons influence the police at Thana by bribing them or pressurizing them politically and find the ways to manipulate the cases. .In some cases police even refused to write any report or writes the report in a distorted way that weakened the case. Sometimes even if police arrests the accused, they are granted bail by the court using all sorts of influences, as the case is not placed under appropriate section. The major factors that encourage the crimes of harassing woman in our society and which create the environment for the tragedies like Simi, Mahima, Shahinoor, Rumi and many others to happen, can be identified as follows-

• The perpetrators are usually backed by the ruling party or influential people.

• The neglect and corruption of the police.

• The cases are not placed under specific Article that weakens the case and fails to give significant punishment to the accused.

• Peoples' fear of repercussions from the culprits.

• Many cases are not even reported in an attempt to protect family's reputation.

• The whole economic paradigm that makes drugs, sex-trade a big business that encourages vulgar culture that creates unemployment and helps hoodlum to exist and grow, that alienates the young boys from the creative participation in building the society.

• State agencies are least effective in implementing and enforcing laws that are framed to uphold women's interest.

The protests exist
The other side of this scene should be mentioned here. People had protested against the misdeeds of the miscreants and their supporters. Progressive student and cultural organizations, political parties, women organizations arranged processions, demonstrations, human chains demanding punishment for the perpetrators and protest against all attempts to protect them.

The above mentioned factors urge that the women issue cannot be isolated from struggle against overall power structure, legal system and the patriarchal norms those make women always vulnerable to the powerful barbarian minority.

Sources

• The Daily Prothom Alo (2 October, 10 October, 2002, 29 January, 30 May, 9 May, 2003)

• The Daily Jugantar (16 April,17 April, 19 April, 20 April, 24 April,25 April, 1 May, 3 May, 2003.)

• The Daily Star (May 4, May 5, May 11, June 5, 2003)

• Star, Weekend Magazine (May 17, 2003)

• Representations of Women in History and Culture, The Dhaka University studies, June 1998.

• Meghna Guhathakurta, Article "Bangladeshe Nari Nipirran - Rastrer Bhumika" , "Bangladeshe Nari Nirjataun"- Edited by B.K.Jahangir and Zarina Rahman Khan.

August, 2003

Source:  Meghbarta
Related: Freedom She Wrote