BANGLADESH: Killing women in the name of religion – Fatwa rulings continue
DHAKA, 13 August 2010 (IRIN): Nearly two decades after a peasant woman’s suicide first raised national awareness about the danger of religious rulings, and one month after a high court outlawed deadly edicts, killings of women in the name of religion continue in Bangladesh, human rights groups say.
Seventeen years ago, Nurjahan Begum, a peasant woman from northeastern Bangladesh was publicly stoned after a “shalish” – a village ruling council – found her guilty of committing adultery (utroskab). Immediately after the stoning, she fled to her father’s house and took poison to kill herself.
– This was the first fatwa we heard about through the national newspapers and the first time we took action, said Hameeda Hossain, chairperson of Ain o Salish Kendra, a local aid and human rights organization.
The fatwa is an Islamic religious ruling used at times by elites in Bangladesh’s rural villages to the detriment of women – mainly from poor families.
Fatwa rulings have resulted in women being beaten and caned (stokkeslag) – all outside of the law – leading many of them to commit suicide to save family honour, according to rights groups.
Last month Bangladesh’s highest court outlawed all punishments handed down in fatwas, but a weak judicial system coupled with deep-rooted social traditions means there is still a long way to go, said activist Hossain.
– It is very difficult to enforce a law in Bangladesh. The state is very weak. There is always this sense in the community that they know what’s best and they‘re taking up what they consider to be moral issues, noted she.
Bangladesh is 90 percent Muslim and rights groups have criticized the government for being slow to prevent atrocities occurring in the name of fatwas, despite a number of high profile incidents.
In Nurjahan’s case, the mosque leader and eight other members of the “shalish” were sentenced to seven years of hard labour in 1994. But most cases do not receive nationwide attention.
– If the woman does not find support then she tends to give in to whatever is being done to her and take the punishment, said Hossain.
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