Bangladesh
Pakistan: “Reclaiming Space: from victimhood to agency: State and civil society response to VAW”
Islamabad—Speakers at a conference here on Thursday urged for collective struggle and structural reforms to challenge Violence Against Women (VAW) in South Asian countries particularly. The three-day South Asian conference on “Reclaiming Space: from victimhood to agency: State and civil society response to VAW” organized by Rozan in Islamabad was widely attended by women activists from all over Pakistan who were joined by delegates from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh: Protect women against 'fatwa' violence
Despite court orders, government has failed to intervene.
(Dhaka) - The Bangladesh government should take urgent measures to make sure that religious fatwas and traditional dispute resolution methods do not result in extrajudicial punishments, Human Rights Watch said today. The government is yet to act on repeated orders of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, beginning in July 2010, to stop illegal punishments such as whipping, lashing, or public humiliations, said the petitioners who challenged the practice.
Intimate Partner Violence: High costs to Households and Communities
ICRW and its partners, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) in Uganda and Hassan II University in Morocco, with support from UNFPA, undertook a three-country study in Bangladesh, Morocco and Uganda to estimate the economic costs of intimate partner violence at the household and community levels, where its impact is most direct and immediate. The focus on intimate partner violence was motivated by the fact that this is the most common form of violence against women. A household and community level analysis helps to shed light on intimate partner violence's relationship to both household economic vulnerability and the extent to which scarce public resources for essential health, security and infrastructure services are diverted due to such violence.
Bangladesh: Women Defy Islamic Clergy
DHAKA, Apr 28, 2011 (IPS) - Bangladeshi women are pushing government to implement the recently approved National Women Development Policy (NWDP) 2011, which has met with strong resistance from Islamic clergy.
Leaders and activists of the Jatiya Mahila Sangstha (National Women’s Organisation) recently held rallies and formed human chains across major cities demanding the policy’s immediate enforcement.
Bangladesh: High Rate of Child Marriages, Warnings to Parents
DHAKA, 6 April 2011 (IRIN) - Despite various government and non-governmental initiatives to stem child marriage in Bangladesh, parents are continuing to marry off their underage daughters, health experts say.
“Early marriage is a big problem for Bangladesh. We cannot reduce maternal mortality and morbidity if we do not stop early marriage,” Gias Uddin, a project manager for the , the largest family planning NGO in the country, told IRIN.
Combatting Acid Violence in Bangladesh, India and Cambodia
Acid violence involves intentional acts of violence in which perpetrators throw, spray, or pour acid onto victims’ faces and bodies. This Report examines acid violence in Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia from an international human rights
perspective. Using this framework, it identifies the causes of acid violence and suggests practical solutions to address them. Acid violence is prevalent in these countries because of three related factors: gender inequality and discrimination, the easy availability of acid, and impunity for acid attack perpetrators.
Bangladesh: Women Commit Suicide to Escape Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment against women in Bangladesh is turning deadly. According to local human rights groups 28 women committed suicide this year to escape frequent sexual harassment. Before killing themselves most of them wrote a note demanding an end to the sexual harassment known locally as ‘eve teasing’ where boys intercept girls on the street, and shout obscenities, laugh at them, pull or touch them or worse.
Bangladesh: Four arrested for the death of 14 year old Hena Begum
Four people including a Muslim cleric have been arrested in Bangladesh in connection with the death of 14-year-old girl who was publicly lashed.
The teenager was accused of having an affair with a married man, police say, and the punishment was given under Islamic Sharia law.
Bangladesh: Sexual Harassment Can Lead to Suicide
DHAKA, 13 December 2010 (IRIN) - Sexual harassment against girls and women in Bangladesh is turning deadly: 28 women have committed suicide this year and another seven attempted it to escape frequent sexual harassment, says a Dhaka-based human rights organization, Ain O Salish Kendra ().
A father also committed suicide fearing social insult after his daughter was harassed and in other cases, stalkers killed three women, reported the NGO.
One Day One Struggle: International Campaign to Promote Sexual and Bodily Rights across Muslim Societies
On November 9, 2010, the 2nd international “One Day One Struggle” Campaign to promote sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies will take place in 12 countries across Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia. With diverse, groundbreaking actions and events, almost 50 participating Human Rights organizations, Universities and Municipalities will simultaneously call for public attention to issues like Right to Information, Sexuality Education, Sexual Health, Bodily Autonomy and Sexual Rights of Individuals, LGBTTQ Rights, Sexual Diversity and Islam, Sexuality and Shari’a as well as the struggle to stop sexual rights violations ranging from Polygamy to killings of women, gay people and transsexuals.