Tortured for dowry

We see a continuous display of grief and sorrow in the media--bodies lined up after car crashes, someone lying in a hospital bed with a leg chopped off for standing up to those who stalked his daughter, domestic workers abused by people who are otherwise known as decent, law abiding citizens of the society. But the single image of Fatema Akter Liya of Tangail, her shaven head exposing grievous injuries, in this newspaper, sums up everything that has gone wrong with our society. Five days into the delivery of their second child, her husband lacerated her with a sharp object for dowry. What would be an appropriate response to this brutality? Should we be satisfied with ourselves by showing empathy for Fatema who can barely talk now? Should we let out a hint of a sigh and then go back to doing whatever we were doing? 

The picture induces cringes, but it's not the whole. Incidents like this hardly occur in vacuum. Despite the hue and cry, they continue to take place unabated, mostly due to the culture of impunity. How many people have been punished for demanding or taking dowry which is illegal in this country?

Fatema's loss must not be kicked into the long grass. All the talk about women empowerment will be meaningless as long as women are abused this way and the perpetrators walk free. There is also a need to increase the level of social awareness to rid society of this menace.