Protesting mother beaten to death

In Tarash upazila of Sirajganj, a 45-year-old woman, Khushi Begum, was beaten to death when she protested the harassment of her daughter. Reports suggest that when she went over to her neighbour's house and confronted him for harassing her 18-year-old daughter, a fight broke out between Khushi and the neighbour's wife. Subsequently, the neighbour, his wife and his sister beat her till she died on the spot. 

That a mother should be beaten so mercilessly for protesting aggression towards her daughter is beyond comprehension. And that two women, instead of hearing out the charges of harassment against the male family member, should attack the mother just goes to show the extent to which people, irrespective of their gender, internalise patriarchal ideas, turning a blind eye towards allegations of harassment if people close to them are accused. We are also flabbergasted by the severity of the violence inflicted so unconcernedly by otherwise ordinary people over a matter that could well be resolved through civilised means. What, we ask, has become of people's humanity?

In this column, we have repeatedly highlighted the need for concerted efforts to eradicate violence against women. Interventions must take place at the individual, family and community levels across the country to instil egalitarian and humanitarian values in both men and women. As we have seen, women, too, can inflict violence against other women in the interest of men in their families and communities, and they must be engaged through constructive dialogues. 

Meanwhile, the perpetrators, two of whom have already been arrested, must be brought to justice through a speedy trial.