Brutalities for dowry

It is unfortunate that after long 45 years of Independence, Bangladeshi women are still facing various forms of gender discrimination and gender-based violence in their everyday life. Domestic violence seems to top the list and often, it is because of the wife or her family's failure to meet the unreasonable dowry demands of the husband. This has led to violence and the death of hundreds of women every year. Between January and September this year, 99 women were killed and 93 more were physically tortured in dowry-related violence, says Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). In the most recent case a man cut off his wife's tongue and slashed the tendon of her left leg for Tk 5 lakh dowry in Sylhet. It is alleged that her husband and in-laws have been torturing her for dowry since her marriage in 2008. The statistics along with the shocking tale of brutality speak aloud about the vulnerability of Bangladeshi women in the domestic sphere. 

Despite a number of laws and ordinances criminalising dowry and related violence against women, its pervasive presence indicates to poor implementation of these regulations, particularly the Dowry Prevention Act, 1980. In most cases, the victims seek solutions outside the court as legal battles cost too much and take too long. The ASK statistics reveal that only 73 cases regarding dowry related violence were filed in the first nine months of this year. In most cases the perpetrators managed to get away through various legal loopholes. It needs not to be emphasised that enforcement of laws to stop this illegal practice and dowry-related violence have to be improved radically. In addition to that, there must be mass awareness through all kinds of media that the practice of dowry is a crime and a social curse.