Gender and Development

	Table of Contents
p. 5 of 33 BACK | NEXT Bangladesh Ain O Shalish Kendro Credit and Development Forum - CDF FemCom Mukti Nari O Shishu Kalyan Shangstha Cambodia India Indonesia Kyrgyz Republic Nepal Pakistan Tajikistan Uzbekistan

Bangladesh

Combating Violence Against Women and Children - Mukti Nari O Shishu Kalyan Shangstha

Background of the project

The number of violent acts against women – including acid throwing, rape, trafficking and other sexual violence – are of great concern to women’s NGOs and other organizations in Bangladesh. The frequency of such violence is evidence that the formal structures of law and policing fail to protect women and children. Poverty, low literacy and lack of awareness of legal rights work against women seeking redress through formal mechanisms. For poor women, the court system is financially beyond their reach and the police viewed with suspicion. Women’s capacity to utilize the courts and police is further limited by the male-dominated structures and discriminatory practices embedded in these institutions. What is urgently required in such cases are mediating organizations operating at the local level which can intervene on the victim’s behalf to demand legal and police support, as well as pursue – where more appropriate – alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

Donor organizations, however, do not have the organizational capacity to pursue such grassroots activities. They are better placed to influence governments in the areas of legal reform and gender sensitization. While such reforms are critical, they do not necessarily help poor women who are victims of violence. For women burdened with low levels of literacy and no independent financial resources there are overwhelming practical barriers to applying to the court for justice. Recognizing this situation, ADB took the initiative of working directly with a local level NGO in order to foster new mechanisms for supporting the needs of poor women who are victims of violence. In doing so, ADB also recognized that local-level NGOs can also make a contribution to the areas of legal and judicial reform. In particular, the knowledge that such organizations develop in dealing with the practical, structural and cultural barriers faced by poor women when accessing the legal and police systems can in turn feed into government reform strategies.

The NGO in question is MUKTI Nari-O-Shishu Kalyan Shangstha, operating in the Kushtia district of western Bangladesh. With a female lawyer as Executive Director, the strength of this organization is its capacity to utilize formal legal and police structures as well as traditional arbitration practices (shalish).

Since its inception in 1990, MUKTI has provided legal aid to female victims of violence and injustice, particularly in those areas that most affect women, that is, sexual violence, divorce, dowry, early marriage and polygamy. It has also monitored cases referred to various union-level Shalish Committees across six thanas in the Kushtia district. MUKTI has experienced first hand the increase in violence against women as a result of increasing dowry expectations and the trafficking in women over this time. (Kushtia as a border district is often used as a route for trafficking of women and girls) It is also a very poor area, and very few women victims have access to or get support from the police or courts.

Project Components

With support from RETA 5889, MUKTI undertook a number of activities designed to sensitize various stakeholders on the problem of violence against women. As a result of these workshops, a process of dialogue developed between MUKTI and local stakeholders, including the police, the media, lawyers, government, etc. Funds were also spent on strengthening MUKTI’s research capacity through the development of a database on the incidence and handling of VAW cases in local hospitals and police stations.

Major project components were:

• Observation and monitoring of government organizations (courts, hospitals, police stations, etc.) related to violence against women
• Gender-sensitization and other training and orientation of key stakeholders, including representatives of women’s organizations, journalists, government, lawyers, police personnel, etc.
• Establish processes for advocacy and lobbying
• Research, publication and information dissemination

Outcomes of Project

Over the course of the project, a total of 24 workshops will be run to raise awareness on violence against women and to build a platform for advocacy and lobbying. In particular, the workshop-cum-dialogue sessions will strengthen MUKTI’s relationships with the courts, the police and other local government organizations. To date, workshops held at the district and thana-levels have enabled MUKTI to establish high-level dialogue with the Police Superintendent, Civil Surgeon, the District Women’s Affairs Officer, the District Coordinator of Non-Formal Education, the Assistant Director of Horticulture in the Department of Agriculture, social workers, journalists, lawyers and others. MUKTI has received a letter of support from the Civil Surgeon and the Police Superintendent allowing MUKTI to observe cases of violence against women in hospitals and police stations. MUKTI is also a member of the district-level government Committee on Violence Protection. This type of involvement at the district level will ensure the sustainability of the project and of MUKTI into the future.

Other positive outcomes from the project include the establishment of a database on crimes against women, including violent crimes. The collection and classification of such data has benefited from the involvement of ADB’s GAD specialist. Such information feeds back into raising local awareness as disseminated in the media and via MUKTI’s own training programs. For this reason, MUKTI arranges press conferences and includes journalists in the project’s workshops. This research component also provides important policy-related data on the incidence and reporting of VAW in the Kushtia area.

Case Study 1. Rupa

Rupa was a young woman of 16 when sold into trafficking by her husband. Tragically, the story is not unique in Bangladesh. A woman from a poor family, she married a man from outside her district. Her husband approached her family asking to marry Rupa, and they agreed. For young women of Rupa’s background, marriage and motherhood are the only acceptable social roles. For young women from poor families, there is an additional obligation to marry so as not to be a financial burden on their family.

Unfortunately Rupa’s new husband was linked to a gang involved in trafficking young women to supply brothels in Dhaka. Very shortly after their marriage, he took Rupa to Dhaka and had her held in a house until he could arranged for her sale. In the meantime, her husband informed Rupa’s parents that their daughter was missing. This made them immediately suspicious but they did not know what to do. Rupa’s mother said that they did not go to the police with their problem as they thought the police would ask for money to pursue the matter, and they had none. Desperate but without any hope, they heard about MUKTI from people in the local area. MUKTI immediately set about recovering their daughter. Representatives from MUKTI went to the district police, who then advised police in other areas, including Dhaka. Fortunately for Rupa, she managed to escape from the house in which she was being held. Police found her in Dhaka and placed her in protective custody. Lawyers from MUKTI arranged for her release and she was brought back to her parent’s house, where she now lives.

According to Rupa’s mother, Rupa’s recovery would not have been possible without MUKTI’s assistance. In particular, MUKTI’s good relationship with the district police and judiciary meant that the police responded to this case with speed. The police later arrested Rupa’s brother-in-law but her husband absconded and Rupa’s parents did not have the resources to press charges or pursue the matter further. In the end, through intermediaries, they settled on a divorce.

We need resources in terms of technical skills to reach the poorest-of-the-poor. No other forum has done this, treat women-headed micro-credit organizations as a separate group of stakeholders.

MUKTI’s assistance did not end there. MUKTI’s intervention also made possible Rupa’s acceptance back into local society. In conservative rural Bangladesh, a woman’s honor is important to her status as well as her family’s status. While divorce is tolerated, women risk social ostracism if associated with prostitution and other illicit sexual relations. When Rupa first returned from Dhaka there were numerous rumors suggesting that Rupa had in fact been working as a prostitute during the time she was held in protective custody. The lack of a court case or charges seemed to falsify Rupa’s version of events. To facilitate Rupa’s acceptance by the local community, MUKTI arranged for Rupa to make a signed statement in front of a magistrate. The police in Dhaka then verified that she was in police custody during the time in question. Following this, MUKTI held several meetings with influential local groups, where Rupa’s story was explained and her statement shown as evidence.

Currently, Rupa is living with her family and training to be a tailor as part of the Department of Women’s Affairs skills development program for women’s self-reliance.

Case Study 2. Asma and Jamil

Marriage in Bangladesh is rarely a decision taken by two individuals. In general, families make marriages. So when senior family members disapprove of a marriage - such as the husband’s mother or father - the family will often take steps to break up a marriage. This is what happened in the case of Asma and Jamil’s marriage. Asma and Jamil had been married for ten years. They have a seven year old daughter. Jamil’s mother, however, was never happy about the match. Firstly, Asma came from a poor family and did not bring much in the way of dowry. Secondly, Asma does not have the use of her legs and so cannot work in the house or field like other wives. For many years, Asma and Jamil lived separately from Jamil’s family, as the family would not accept Asma. Finally, Jamil was told that he would not inherit any property unless he divorced his wife. Under pressure from his family and to get some money from them, he moved back home, where he stayed for four months. During this time, he was almost held in custody by his family and refused all contact with this wife. His family relentlessly pressured him to remarry, which he eventually did. However, Jamil refused to consummate the marriage out of respect for Asma. When Asma went to visit Jamil at his family’s home, she was beaten by his brother and brother’s wife. Asma reported this to the police, who were reluctant to get involved in what they saw as a domestic dispute. Someone in the police station suggested she try MUKTI.

In such situations, MUKTI appeals to the traditional arbitration mechanism, shalish. At the NGO’s headquarters, MUKTI brings together all the parties involved, as well as a few socially respected elders or local leaders. Shalish is essentially a process of dialogue which allows the issues to be aired frankly and seeks to reach a settlement on the basis of socially accepted values and norms. Shalish relies on social norms and the very public nature of any agreements or settlements to change people’s behavior and ensure they live up to the commitments made during shalish. Usually an agreement is only reached over the course of several meeting. Once an agreement is reached, it is put in writing and the parties asked to sign it. In some cases, those involved are asked to report to MUKTI on a regular basis to monitor the situation. In this case, widely accepted norms supporting marriage, particularly when there is a child involved, where brought into play to pressure Jamil’s family to accept his marriage to Asma.

As a result of the shalish process initiated by MUKTI, Asma and Jamil are now living together again and his family has agreed not to disinherit him. His second wife continues to live with her parents, as the father-in-law of Jamil is demanding money for a divorce. MUKTI is also dealing with this issue in order to free Asma from the status of co-wife. As in other such cases, the direct involvement of MUKTI’s executive director, a respected lawyer was central in reaching a solution acceptable to all parties.

Future Direction

MUKTI’s database and dialogue process with district government organizations has the potential to feed into other government initiatives, including policy making and efforts to prevent violence against women as discussed in the Bangladesh National Policy for the Advancement of Women. MUKTI has already begun to build on the relationships formed through this project. For example, recognizing the relationship between literacy, awareness and VAW, MUKTI has plans to work with the Department of Non-Formal Education to deliver adult literacy programs, which will also contain information on women’s legal rights, child marriage, and violence against women.

There is potential to scale-up and replicate elements of this project. For example, similar research and dialogue-cum-training workshops could be implemented in other parts of the country, drawing on both MUKTI’s approach as well as its links to other Dhaka-based national NGOs such as Ain O Shalish Kendro (ASK) and Naripokkho (who assisted MUKTI with monitoring cases of violence against women brought to hospital).

There is potential for ADB to consider the role of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in potential legal and judicial reform projects financed by ADB. For example, MUKTI has demonstrated not only the practical value and cost effective nature of alternative dispute resolution but the ways in which ADR can work within and support other legal and police structures. The strengthening of arbitration processes such as Shalish Committees is also part of such a reform agenda. This would compliment another project supported under RETA 5889 by the national NGO, Ain O Shalish Kendro (ASK) (see below).

There is also scope to consider VAW and ADR in future program loans, drawing on support of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, the National Policy for the Advancement of Women and the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs. A first step is to build on issues of deteriorating law and order and violence against women as discussed in ADB’s Country Assistance Plan Strategy 2000-2003 for Bangladesh. VAW and ADR should be included as components of other sectoral loans (e.g. in health, rural and urban development, poverty reduction projects, etc.), as well as addressed in project loans primarily related to the development of efficient and responsive legal and administrative frameworks in Bangladesh. Technical assistance projects could also be funded in the areas of VAW and ADR.

Back FemCom	Next Cambodia