[sacw] sacw dispatch 2 Jan.2000

Harsh Kapoor act@egroups.com
Mon, 3 Jan 2000 00:00:39 +0100


South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
02 January 2000
_______________
#1. Violence Against Women in Bangladesh
#2. Provocation, intimidation beyond the Dangs [Gujarat, India]
#3. Bangalore protesters want ban on 'Dante'
#4. APFEJ International Green Pen Awards
_______________
#1.
[A report for the Odhikar Coalition for Human Rights in Bangladesh]

Violence Against Women in Bangladesh: A 1999 Perspective
by Saira Rahman

Women in Bangladesh have had to face violations to their human rights year
after year. These acts of violence are both public and domestic-rape,
acid-throwing, fatwa, violence due to non-payment of dowry, etc. In
comparison to 1997, studies carried out by Odhikar show that the year 1998
saw a marked increase in the crime of rape- perpetrated both by the
ordinary citizen as well as members of the police force- and an increase in
deaths caused by acts of domestic violence created by dowry demands. In
1999, the Documentation Unit at Odhikar found that there has not been much
change in the number of crimes against women, if any, crimes had seemed to
be on the increase.

The Documentation Unit at Odhikar subscribes to eight national daily papers
from which it gathers relevent data and information regarding aspects of
violence against women. The figures may be less than the real picture (for
example, many incidents of rape are not reported due to social taboos)but
they do give a rough estimate of the situation in Bangladesh on a yearly
basis.

According to the newspaper reports, the crime of acid throwing seems to
have increased dramatically from 101 reported incidences in 1998 to 178 in
1999. Acts of custodial rape perpetrated by law enforcing agents remain in
the two-figure bracket-the youngest victim of such brutality being eight
year old Sharmin Akhtar of Chandpur (reported on 14.9.99). The number of
women raped-either by one person or a gang- is still high as well. Despite
the attempt to improve women=EDs lot in the public sphere, the government ha=
s
done little to help them in the domestic front, where they face the most
violence-both physical and mental. The reported number of women who have
been murdered due to dowry related violence is a high 96. Almost all the
women were killed by their husbands.

Bangladesh is a party to international conventions protecting women's
rights and eliminating discrimination against them. The provisions of these
conventions are yet to be incorporated into our municipal laws. It also has
several enactment's specifically protecting women's rights to life and
safety and severely punishing offenders of crimes against women. However,
it is unfortunate to note the severe downward slope that the scale of
implementation of these laws has taken in the past few years.

Nor has any measures been taken to strictly implement laws protecting
women. Due to this crimes perpetrated against women have increased. There
is yet to be a Domestic Violence Act and the crime is still seen more as a
social norm than a legal matter.

In 1997, the CEDAW Committee raised concerns at the continued trends in
violence against women in Bangladesh-such as acid burns, stoning, dowry
death- and the inability of the government to enforce existing laws
effectively; at the lack of access to women's education; at the
inaccessibility of health care in rural areas of the country; at the
continued crimes of trafficking in women and children, pronouncing and
carrying out fatwa; and at the absence of separate prisons for women
offenders and lack of monitoring the impact of development on women.

The government has yet to introduce UNCEDAW provisions into domestic
legislation, even though women's groups have lobbied for such inclusion for
several years; the present institutional and social measures and norms do
not give women proper access to public and political participation; and
there are yet biases in the areas of personal law and nationality and
citizenship laws.

Violence Against Women : 1999

Odhikar concentrates it monitoring of violence against women in four
specific areas-rape, rape in police custody or 'custodial rape', violence
due to dowry demands and acts of flinging acid on the person of a woman or
=EBacid-throwing=ED.

Despite the laws protecting women's rights and punishing offenders of
crimes against women, there is, as has been stressed, a serious lack of
implementation and a quantity of disinterest show by responsible government
agencies.

Rape:

Rape can be classified as one of the most heinous crimes committed against
the body and mind of a women, regardless of her age. Unfortunately, such a
crime has escalated in number in the last year.

=46rom the first of January to the 31st of December 1999, Odhikar documented
842 cases of rape. This number is not much less than what was documented in
1998. Odhikar, through its documentation of such cases, has realised that
the age group most violated is in the six to fifteen year bracket. In
October 1999 alone, reports say that 14 female children between 6 and 10
years and 11 female children between 11 and 15 years were raped.

In September 1998, the country was shocked at the revelations of rape
incidents in Jahangir Nagar University- one of the seats of highest
education in the country. Thirteen students, all either leaders or
activists of the Bangladesh Chattra League, the student fraction of the
Awami League, were accused of this crime and other forms of sexual
harassment. According to the Fact Finding Committee Report, over 177
students were raped in 20 different areas on the campus of the university.
According to the said report, "many of them were raped several times, some
were gang-raped and some were even forced to leave the campus after the
incidents".

Seven students were accused of committing rape at the said University.
Unfortunately, when the victims approached the concerned university
authorities, they got no remedy "on the grounds of adverse social
repercussions". After a Syndicate meeting, one of the accused was expelled
for life and the other six awarded various punishments involving expulsion
for either two or three years. Six accused abettors were acquitted due to
lack of evidence and two served with warning notices. Another accused
rapist was awarded a 'suspended expulsion' for one year. Despite pressure
from various quarters, including some Jahangir Nagar University teachers,
the university authorities refused to file cases against the accused and
the Vice Chancellor stated that the victims were free to file cases against
the alleged perpetrators. However, as we reach the end of 1999, there has
been no criminal action taken against the criminals and, as always, the
matter has been allowed to gather dust.

Rape in Police Custody / Rape by Police:

Another aspect of rape that has come to light in the recent years is the
rape of women brought into police custody or who are put into the =EBsafe
custody=ED of police stations and jails. Police may arrest women randomly on
grounds of suspicion of prostitution or any whim of fancy. Rape in police
custody is a case of 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' and of all
the cases brought to light so far, very few of the offenders have received
their just desserts. One of the reasons for this could be the fact that it
is the police who are carrying out investigations regarding crimes
allegedly committed by their own colleagues. Furthermore, government
investigation and inquiry commissions are set up which take months in
producing a single report-which is then not disclosed to the demanding
public.

According to Odhikar findings, there were ten reported incidents of 'police
rape' in 1998. One of the victims was as young as eight years while a
majority of them were in their early teens (between 10 and 15 years of
age).

Acid Throwing:

Despite special provisions in the Penal Code and other specified laws
protecting women, the crime of throwing acid on another's face and person
continues. Odhikar documented 101 such cases in 1998. And a record 178
cases in 1999. A majority of the victims fall in the 11-15 and 16-20 year
old brackets (12 cases involve 11-15 year olds while 24 cases involve 16-20
year olds).

In a majority of the cases the main reasons for the perpetration of such
crime was jealousy, refusal of advances and revenge after an argument.

Dowry Deaths:

The demanding, giving and accepting of dowry is an offence under the laws
of Bangladesh. The practice, however, still prevails in many sections of
our society. One of the reasons for this persistence in demanding dowry is
the rising unemployment among young males, specially in rural Bangladesh.
Because the dowry provided is considered an 'investment' or capital for
helping the groom on his way to earning money (for example, opening a
business, going to the Middle East to find a job, etc.) it has become a
very common demand and the bride's parents become the sole supplier.

Often, the bride's parents cannot contribute the whole amount of dowry at
once and pay some of it at the wedding ceremony. Later on, the demand for
the rest becomes intense, and it butt of the brutality which follows a
delayed payment is the bride-now the wife. The issue of dowry is probably
the most common source of domestic violence in rural Bangladesh, where not
only the husband but his parents and relatives take part in reminding the
wife that the remaining payment is still due. The incidents of murder or
attempts to murder are regular items in the country=EDs daily papers.

In 1999, Odhikar recorded a total number of 96 reported deaths due to dowry
demands. All the victims were housewives, the youngest being only sixteen
years of age (there have been reports of four sixteen year old women who
have been killed due to dowry demands in 1999)-a fact in itself illegal, as
the age of marriage for a woman in Bangladesh is above eighteen years.

Conclusion:

The increase in crimes against women and acts of violence against them
raises serious questions regarding the effectiveness, transparency and
accountability of those responsible for maintaining law and order in the
country. It shows to what extent the law and order situation has
deteriorated - specially in the case of the inhuman crime of rape
perpetrated on children. It is also disturbing to note that even acts of
violence against women, perpetrated by persons who are well known and thus
identifiable, slip out of the grasp of the supposedly 'long arm of the law'
- for example in the cases of the incidents in Jahangir Nagar University,
in the small, closed societies in rural areas of Bangladesh and in the home
where domestic help are raped by either the owner or other male members of
the house hold.
____________
#2.
The Hindu
3 January 2000
Op-Ed.

Provocation, intimidation beyond the Dangs
By Harish Khare

AHMEDABAD, JAN. 2. On Christmas Day evening, one could count at least
eight Santa Clauses dancing in the vicinity of the C.G.Road/Ashram Road
in the business district of Ahmedabad. The city was fully alive to the
commercial potential of the Christian festival; decorations and lights
put up by business establishments were in abundance, and conveyed the
impression of traditional peace and goodwill.

Just about the same time, a posse of Ahmedabad policemen decided to keep
a close watch on the St. Xavier Loyola Complex, where the Jesuit
fraternity had put up a crib which was being visited by a large number
of people. The presence of a large number of Ahmedabadis was
conventional; the police vigil was not. What was decidedly
unconventional was the decision of the overzealous local police
inspector to question Father Cedric Prakash about the number of people
coming and going.

A livid Father Prakash wanted to know why somebody, representing the
authoritative face of the Gujarat Government, was interested in keeping
count on people attending the Christian festivities while no similar
count was known to be taken at a mosque, temple or gurudwara. For the
leadership of the Christian community the police inspector's
pro-activism could not possibly be seen in isolation from what was
happening - or was allowed to happen - in the Dangs, which last year saw
a lot of anti-Christian violence, and where this year Christmas could be
celebrated ``peacefully'' only because of the presence of a very large
police force and a strong media contingent.

Just extra-precaution?

=46or the Government, the visit of the police posse to the Loyola Complex
was just an act of extra precaution. Nothing more, nothing less. In
fact, when the State Home Minister, Mr. Haren Pandya, called on Father
Prakash late in the evening to wish him ``Merry Christmas'', he got a
mouthful about the police inquisitiveness.

A somewhat perplexed Home Minister summoned the inspector to demand an
explanation, and got an equally puzzling reply that the local police
station was just getting itself armed with the requisite information to
respond to the Government's anticipated query as to how many people had
joined in the Christmas celebration.

If pressed a bit further, the inspector could probably have written the
Government's Information Department press note on the ``traditional
fervour and gaiety that marked the Christmas celebration in Gujarat''.
Whether the police inquisitiveness at the Loyola Complex was a
micro-aberration or part of a larger mindset, the incident simply
underlines the extraordinary disquiet that has come to grip the
Christian community since the BJP came to power in Gandhinagar in March
1998.

The anti-Christian violence in the Dangs around Christmas last year has
soured the Hindu-Christian relationship, an equation that all these
years was characterised by trust and mutual respect and by a virtual
absence of any organised animosity.

``What has been happening in the Dangs is only the tip of the iceberg,''
asserts Father Prakash. On the other hand, Mr. Haren Pandya argues that
``last year there was violence in the Dangs, hence so much attention was
paid this year; there was no violence this time, and I am sure there
will be no trouble and no media attention next year.''

These diametrically opposite perceptions reveal the difficult task
before the BJP regime as it tries to live up to its constitutional
obligation to protect the life and liberty of all, irrespective of
religion.

Provocation forethought

Notwithstanding Mr. Pandya's tone of self-congratulation over the
peaceful denouement of the `Dharma Sabha' on Christmas Day in Ahwa,
there is no getting away from the fact that the Government showed itself
to be less than fully mindful of its constitutional duty.

The decision of one Vidyashanker Bharatiya Maharaj, a newly- minted
Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Karwarpeeth (nobody in Ahmedabad and
Gandhinagar was able to attest to the veracity of the `peeth' of this
Shankaracharya) to hold a Dharma Sabha in Ahwa, the site of
anti-Christian violence last year, was provocation forethought. For any
Government to permit such a congregation was a cowardly way out of its
clear and obvious constitutional responsibility.

Nor does the peacefulness of the `Dharma Sabha' dilute the resulting
ambience of provocation and intimidation. The reverberations are felt
beyond the Dangs. The whole of South Gujarat, where assorted Christian
missionaries have worked for decades, is today in the grip of an
inexplicable unease. These decades of dedicated and sincere efforts in
the areas of health, education and general empowerment of adivasis and
dalits have been forgotten, and the bogey of ``conversion'' is being
raised, with an aggressiveness that comes easily if there happens to be
a saffronite regime in place in Gandhinagar. The argument is that since
a ``Hindu party'' is in power, Hindu sentiments and preferences ought to
be respected.

Hence, also, the insistence on the right to ``re- convert'' the apostate
back into the fold. ``For all these years the Christian missionaries
were not challenged; nobody from the Hindu side was bothered about the
adivasis. This Swami Ashimananda (of the RSS- frontal organisation,
Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad) has joined the battle for the adivasis'
attention and faith. Hence all this hue and cry from the Christian
missionaries,'' argues Mr. Kishore Makawana, editor of Sadhana, the RSS
organ in Gujarati.

It is in this larger context that the equations at the micro- level
become especially exacting as far as the minorities are concerned.
``False cases are being registered (against Christians) for alluring
adivasis into conversion; the village jamadar, policeman, MLA, etc. use
the law to harass the Christian activists,'' says Mr. Sureshbhai
Chaudhry of Songarh (in Surat district), a social activist associated
with the South Gujarat Vikas Sansthan.

``What is more, the taluka-level officials tell the aggrieved
individuals not to take their grievance to a higher level,'' he adds. In
practical terms this attitude can - and does - mean intimidation and
helplessness.

The most disquieting aspect is that a section of the bureaucracy at the
highest level in Gandhinagar has come to subscribe to the Hindutva point
of view. In this perspective, the onus is on the minorities not to give
any offence to the majority community. This is the beginning of much
trouble ahead.

____________
#3. [Two new items]
The Asian Age
3 January 2000

Violence in Bangalore over article on Muslims

Bangalore: The police used teargas and a lathicharge to disperse an
angry crowd of Muslims gathered outside the New Indian Express office
here on Sunday evening.
A lorry belonging to the newspaper was set on fire and traffic held up
for hours at Queen's Circle. On Sunday morning copies of the New Indian
Express were burnt at Russel Market Chowk in protest against an article
in the newspaper's Saturday edition, which the men in the crowd said
contained "insults to Prophet Mohammed."
Over 1,000 men, who started gathering around 2 pm, performed both the
assar and magrib namaaz on the road in front of the newspaper office.
The men in the crowd also broke their fast on the road as the police
watched. However, when the crowd grew restless and set the lorry on
fire, the police used teargas and a lathicharge to disperse the mob. Two
photographers were hurt in the clash between the police and protesters.
Sporadic violence was reported from other parts of Bangalore on Sunday.
The mob was enraged by comments in an article titled The millennium is
dead... Long live the millennium by veteran journalist T.J.S. George. He
observed in the article: "So pervasive was the equation between the
orient and evil on the one hand and between Europe and virtuousness on
the other, that the stereotypical notions found their way into great
literature. Dante should suffice as example if because his Inferno,
composed in the first decades of the 14th century, is so profound a
fixture in the literate world's consciousness. Dante had no doubt that
Prophet Mohammed's eventual place was in hell but in the eighth of nine
circles of hell, that is so close to the very bottom where Satan himself
dwells."
This and subsequent quotations from Dante about the Prophet's condition
in the afterlife enraged Muslim sentiment and provoked an anger which
intensified over time. Some Muslims considered it particulalrly heinous
that the quotations should have been published in the month of Ramzan.
Ironically, Mr George's article says that one word which sums up the
last millennium is violence and, "for that very reason, we must wish
that the summing up word for the new millennium that is upon us is:
Peace."
The Express management issued a clarification in Sunday's edition after
it received protests from readers on Saturday. On Sunday, a group of
Muslim intellectuals led by the Jamia Masjid Imam went to the New Indian
Express office with a memorandum seeking action against Mr George and a
personal apology from him. The Express management agreed to apologise by
expressing its regret over the report, However, this did not satisfy the
protesters and they wanted the police to arrest Mr George.
The crowd grew angrier as the day progressed and set on fire a New
Indian Express lorry carrying 74 rolls of newsprint on Sunday evening in
front of the Hindu office on Infantry Road.
At Anepalya, violence broke out when youths threw stones at a few shops
and forced businessmen to down their shutters. Two photographers from
local newspapers covering the violence were beaten up and their cameras
snatched.
Trouble over the article started in the city on Saturday evening. People
had gathered in the predominantly Muslim pockets of Russell Market Chowk
to chalk out plans to condemn "unholy remarks passed against the
Prophet."
Around 100 Muslim youths wanted to go to the Express office on Saturday
night but were prevented by the police. Prohibitory orders are in effect
over a 1-km radius around the the New Indian Express until January 5.

Protesters want ban on Dante
By Azmath
Bangalore: Protesters gathered outside the New Indian Express office in
Bangalore on Sunday demanded a ban on Dante's Inferno, quoted in an
article The millennium is dead...Long live the millennium. They said the
book insults Prophet Mohammed.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Anees Ali Khan, an advocate who was part
of the demonstration, said he would file a case in the high court
seeking a ban on Dante's book. "We came to know about Dante's book only
after the New Indian Express published the report. Since Dante's book
speaks ill of the Holy Prophet, we want a ban on his book," Mr Khan
said.
"Most of the protesters here do not know who Dante is and what book he
has written. But we are angry with the New Indian Express because it has
carried comments objectionable to Muslim society," Mr Khan added.
Mr Khan met city police commissioner T. Madiyal on Sunday morning and
complained to him that the article written by Mr T.J.S. George was a
deliberate attempt to hurt the sentiment of the Muslim community. He
asked the commissioner to register a case against Mr George for
spreading communal violence and hatred.
Mr Madiyal told reporters he was examining the complaint made by Mr Khan
to see whether a case could be booked against Mr George under Section
153(a) of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with inciting communal
violence.
____________
#4.
APFEJ INTERNATIONAL GREEN PEN AWARDS

The Asia-Pacific Forum of Environmental
Journalists(http://www.oneworld.org/slejf) is inviting nominations for
INTERNATIONAL GREEN PEN AWARDS.

The APFEJ International Green Pen Award is presented each year at the APFEJ
annual congress for journalists who have made a significant contribution in
promoting environmental journalism.

The award is open to all full-time or freelance journalists in the world
working in all forms of media, the environment, government agencies,UN and
NGOs. It is aimed to recognize the leadership of individuals in the field
of environmental journalism - people who help, inspire and support others
in the field.

Some of Past recipients of the INTERNATIONAL GREEN PEN AWARDS;
*Aditya Man Shrestha- Nepal(founder chairman of APFEJ & founder Secretary
General of Nepal Forum of Environmental journalists.),*Valentin
Thurn-Germany(founder of International Federation of Environmental
Journalists),*Jim Detjen- USA(founder chairman of US society of
Environmental Journalists),*Vijay Menon-Singapore(Secretary General of
Asian Media Information And Communication Centre),*Manuel s. Satorre Jr-
Philippines(president, Philippine Environmental Journalists Inc.),*Quamrul
Islam Chowdhury- Bangladesh(Chairman of Commonwealth Environmental
Journalists Association),
*Nina Ratulele- Fiji(Secretary of PINA Pacific Forum of Environmental
Journalists).

LAST DATE:
The last date for receipt of nominations is 25 February 2000.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
*The results will be announced in the 22 April 2000.

*The location of the Award ceremony varies. The Last two ceremonies have
been held in Sri Lanka(1998) and Bangladesh(1999).This year the award,
along with a certificate, will be presented to the winner on World
Environment Day, June 5 at a special ceremony at the 12th annual APFEJ
Congress in Suva- Fiji, which will see more than 100 participants from
nearly 50 countries.

NOMINATION FORM

Name of Candidate:
Address:
Tel:
=46ax:
E-mail:
Web:
Brief particulars of the candidate including a short description of
significant contributions in promoting environmental journalism and their
impact (max. 500words):

__________________________________________
SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB DISPATCH is an informal, independent &
non-profit citizens wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web
(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since1996.