Sara Hossain, a leading Supreme Court lawyer and a strong advocate of women’s rights in Bangladesh, talks about the present scenario of equal rights for women ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day.
Juris: The theme for International Women’s Day, 2014 is “Equality of women is progress for all.” Where do we stand in terms of achieving gender equality in Bangladesh at present?
Sara Hossain: Bangladesh has made major progress and is recognised internationally for achievements in this area, won by women and girls struggling for their rights, by progressive policies for women’s social and economic empowerment undertaken by all our governments for decades now, along with incredible interventions by internationally respected national institutions like Grameen Bank and BRAC, and supported by the international community.
Juris: How women-friendly are the Constitution and the legal system of Bangladesh to ensure equality and gender justice?
Sara Hossain: While equal rights of women and men are guaranteed by the Constitution, there are differing interpretations regarding the scope of constitutional rights. This is a particular challenge in cases where women’s right to equality is counterposed against the right to freedom of religion. The changes made by the 15th Amendment pose us with new challenges and obstacles in this regard. We need to try to secure more progressive interpretations from the higher courts that the scope of equality extends to the state and public spheres, including all laws that affect women’s rights.
Juris: What are the real obstacles in the law or in the legal system that women face in achieving their economic independence, eg choice of profession, ownership of property, etc?
Sara Hossain: The law is an obstacle regarding equal rights to property through inheritance. However, in most cases it is not the law but the practice, the culture, the institutional barriers that prevent the achievement of gender equality.
Juris: We still see many incidents of domestic violence where women are the worst victims of violence at their matrimonial homes. We have a Domestic Violence Act, 2000 which aims at protecting women from rampant domestic violence. How much headway the law has achieved so far to rein in domestic violence?
Sara Hossain: The law has been enacted long ago, and is being used regularly. This was a major win by the women’s movement and the human rights groups in Bangladesh and a solid achievement of the last government.
Juris: How does the judiciary respond in cases where women’s rights are concerned?
Sara Hossain: There have been very significant and landmark judgments by our higher courts. The cases on so-called “fatwa” violence, addressing sexual harassment, and evidence collection in rape and abolition of the “two finger” test are examples of this.
Juris: Do you think our laws are sufficient to help reduce the challenges that women encounter in marriage, divorce, employment, oppression at home and work? Or, do we need new laws?
Sara Hossain: The laws are grossly discriminatory in some areas, eg marriage and divorce. The laws on violence also need to be reviewed, moving from the focus on punishment and denial of fair trial and looking more at redress and protection for victims.
Juris: How do you evaluate the overall progress of women empowerment in relation to the fact that we have women at the top of the establishment (prime minister, leader of the opposition, speaker of the parliament)? Does it reflect the entire situation?
Sara Hossain: We have a “leader of the opposition” who is the wife of a military dictator who is now the ally of an elected government. In addition, we have a speaker who welcomes a parliament where members of the same party sit in opposition and in government. Your readers can evaluate what they make of this and how inspiring these positions of “women at the top of the establishment are.”
Juris: As a woman lawyer, what do you think should be done to ensure equal rights for women in all spheres of our lives as envisioned in Article 27 of our constitution?
Sara Hossain: Immediate steps should be taken by the government, in furtherance of its stated commitment to secularism and to equality of women, to repeal grossly discriminatory personal laws restricting or denying women’s equal rights in the family, relating to Muslim, Christian and Hindu family laws. In addition, state and private bodies should take immediate action to implement directives from the Supreme Court regarding addressing violence against women, regarding sexual harassment, rape, or child marriage.
A public campaign to address positive aspects of women’s rights, to self-determination and choice is also urgently needed. Moreover, maybe it’s time to start loudly criticising the notion that just putting women into positions of power is a good thing – we should stop accepting this sad quota of politics, unless the women in question have ability, competence, agency, the power to take their own decisions and not be yes-women, and most of all integrity.
See more at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/juris/2014/mar/05/laws-are-grossly-discriminatory-some-areas#sthash.C8EzEEvs.dpuf
