Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Most married women face abuse -Sumi Khan
Around 80 percent of married women/girls have been abused by their husbands at least once in their lifetime. This horrible piece of data has come from none other than a government survey, namely the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Although hardly surprising in a country where violence against women makes the news every single day, that the rate of abuse against married women would be so high, is appalling.
According to the report, these women/girls face all kinds of violence – physical, sexual, economic and emotional. Husbands are controlling and in most cases married women keep their trauma hidden. Only 2.6 percent of the victims actually seek legal support. Social stigma, further violence from the husband, concern for family honour, ensure this silence.
Unsurprisingly, the report has found that rural women are more likely to face such abuse though even in urban areas the rate is quite high – around 54.4 percent.
These statistics point out that despite stringent laws against violence against women, male chauvinism is part of our culture and our age-old stereotypical perceptions regarding women have not changed. Wife beating has always been seen as a personal matter in our society, even our legal system is a party to that. In many occasions not only does society condone wife beating, it even encourages it as a way to keep women 'under control'.
A drastic change is therefore in order – a change in the way society as a whole treats its female members. Child marriage that legitimises sexual abuse of minors, must be stopped immediately. We need more legal aid and counselling services, shelters and income generating programmes for women who want to get out of abusive marriages because of fear or financial insecurity. It is up to us as a society to change this shameful scenario.The Daily Star Editorial
According to the report, these women/girls face all kinds of violence – physical, sexual, economic and emotional. Husbands are controlling and in most cases married women keep their trauma hidden. Only 2.6 percent of the victims actually seek legal support. Social stigma, further violence from the husband, concern for family honour, ensure this silence.
Unsurprisingly, the report has found that rural women are more likely to face such abuse though even in urban areas the rate is quite high – around 54.4 percent.
These statistics point out that despite stringent laws against violence against women, male chauvinism is part of our culture and our age-old stereotypical perceptions regarding women have not changed. Wife beating has always been seen as a personal matter in our society, even our legal system is a party to that. In many occasions not only does society condone wife beating, it even encourages it as a way to keep women 'under control'.
A drastic change is therefore in order – a change in the way society as a whole treats its female members. Child marriage that legitimises sexual abuse of minors, must be stopped immediately. We need more legal aid and counselling services, shelters and income generating programmes for women who want to get out of abusive marriages because of fear or financial insecurity. It is up to us as a society to change this shameful scenario.The Daily Star Editorial
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Sunday, March 6, 2016
I exist-Married adolescents appeal exposed -Sumi Khan
She was married at 14 and had two children before she reached womanhood. The result is known -- both mother and babies are having different health problems.
Dipti Rani wanted to continue her study, but was forced to marry when in the seventh grade. “I still feel like going to school with friends when I'm in sleep,” Dipti, now 18, said, narrating her story during a roundtable at the Prothom Alo's office in the capital yesterday.
Initiatives for Married Adolescent Girls' Empowerment (IMAGE) & The Bangla daily Prothom Alo jointly organised the discussion.
Dipti said her bothers did not want her to continue study because of "her security" in society.
“I hate my parents' house now because my mother also failed to play a role in favour of me.”
She said she did a lot of work in the family, but there was no value of her opinion. Arnob Chakrobarty . Managing Director of RedOrange Media & Communications introduced Dipti with all at the starting of the program.
Farhana Zesmin Hasan, project director of IMAGE, said a large number of girls in Bangladesh were getting married before 18, the official age of adulthood. These girls are getting into conjugal life overnight without any information or preparation and completion of education, she said.
Mahmudul Kabir, country director of Terre Des Hommes Netherlands, said loopholes in the birth registration process should be removed as guardians showed their daughter's age to be 18 or more in the birth certificate though their actual age was below 18.
When a child is forced to get married, she remains unprepared for the new situation, and for that she fails to fulfil the expectations and eventually in many cases she faces torture, said Sultana Kamal, executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).
She told the roundtable that a person has some rights since birth, but sending a girl to a new life without preparation at her early age was a violation of human rights.
Every year 9-10 lakh marriages take place in the country, and half of those females are aged between 15 and 19, while 30 lakh babies are born each year, of which 7.5 lakh are from mothers 15 to 19 years old, said Dr Ubiadur Rob, country director, Population Council Bangladesh.
He said there were 32 to 33 lakh married girls in the country, and 80 percent of them gave birth before reaching 17 years of age.
The birth of premature babies is a major cause of child mortality and adolescent girls give birth to more premature babies, said Dr Rabeya Khatun, adolescent expert of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr Deen Mohammad Nurul Haque, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said community clinics were playing a huge role to empower women.
Every sector will have to pitch in to prevent child marriage, he said.
Dr Makhduma Nargis, chief coordinator of community clinics, said there were 13,315 community clinics in the country with a workforce of 8 to 9 lakh, and a good number of them were women.
Abdul Qayyum, associate editor of Prothom Alo, moderated the programme, while Mohammad Sharif, line director (MCRH) of Directorate General of Family Planning; Arnob Chakrabarty, managing director of RedOrange; Dr Muhammad Munir Hussain, national programme officer for adolescents and youth of UNFPA, and Farhana Akhtar, research and knowledge management specialist of IMAGE, addressed the roundtable.
Dipti Rani wanted to continue her study, but was forced to marry when in the seventh grade. “I still feel like going to school with friends when I'm in sleep,” Dipti, now 18, said, narrating her story during a roundtable at the Prothom Alo's office in the capital yesterday.
Initiatives for Married Adolescent Girls' Empowerment (IMAGE) & The Bangla daily Prothom Alo jointly organised the discussion.
Dipti said her bothers did not want her to continue study because of "her security" in society.
“I hate my parents' house now because my mother also failed to play a role in favour of me.”
She said she did a lot of work in the family, but there was no value of her opinion. Arnob Chakrobarty . Managing Director of RedOrange Media & Communications introduced Dipti with all at the starting of the program.
Farhana Zesmin Hasan, project director of IMAGE, said a large number of girls in Bangladesh were getting married before 18, the official age of adulthood. These girls are getting into conjugal life overnight without any information or preparation and completion of education, she said.
When a child is forced to get married, she remains unprepared for the new situation, and for that she fails to fulfil the expectations and eventually in many cases she faces torture, said Sultana Kamal, executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).
She told the roundtable that a person has some rights since birth, but sending a girl to a new life without preparation at her early age was a violation of human rights.
Every year 9-10 lakh marriages take place in the country, and half of those females are aged between 15 and 19, while 30 lakh babies are born each year, of which 7.5 lakh are from mothers 15 to 19 years old, said Dr Ubiadur Rob, country director, Population Council Bangladesh.
He said there were 32 to 33 lakh married girls in the country, and 80 percent of them gave birth before reaching 17 years of age.
The birth of premature babies is a major cause of child mortality and adolescent girls give birth to more premature babies, said Dr Rabeya Khatun, adolescent expert of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr Deen Mohammad Nurul Haque, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said community clinics were playing a huge role to empower women.
Every sector will have to pitch in to prevent child marriage, he said.
Dr Makhduma Nargis, chief coordinator of community clinics, said there were 13,315 community clinics in the country with a workforce of 8 to 9 lakh, and a good number of them were women.
Abdul Qayyum, associate editor of Prothom Alo, moderated the programme, while Mohammad Sharif, line director (MCRH) of Directorate General of Family Planning; Arnob Chakrabarty, managing director of RedOrange; Dr Muhammad Munir Hussain, national programme officer for adolescents and youth of UNFPA, and Farhana Akhtar, research and knowledge management specialist of IMAGE, addressed the roundtable.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Friday, January 8, 2016
Sunday, January 3, 2016
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