minority rights in bangladesh. similar stories must be happening in west bengal too.
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sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sri venkat
Date: Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 4:59 AM
Subject: Bangladesh: Forced conversion of religion after abduction
To:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/crime/2013/jun/27/forced-conversion-religion-after-abduction-goes-unchecked
Created on June 27, 2013 at 13:01Forced conversion of religion after
abduction
Udisa Islam <http://www.dhakatribune.com/author/udisa-islam>
A new phenomenon where men kidnap 10-16-year-old girls from minority
communities and force them to sign declarations that they are adults and
wish to change their religion to Islam to get married
Human rights groups and NGOs are calling for more action to be taken to
prevent a spate of abductions and rapes of women, who have reportedly also
then been forced to convert to Islam as part of a "carefully-planned"
strategy to reduce support for victims from their communities after the
crime is perpetrated.
Prima (not her real name), a sixth grader from Gazipur's Tongi area, was
abducted on her way back from school on April 6 this year.
Law enforcers found her 55 days later at a hotel in Cox's Bazaar. She had
been raped repeatedly by some boys from her locality during the period and
was forced to convert her religion from Hinduism to Islam and marry one of
the perpetrators, Rabiul Hossein Manik.
Experts say Prima's traumatic experience was not an isolated case, but part
of a new phenomenon where men kidnap 10-16year old girls from minority
communities and force them to sign declarations that they are adults and
wish to change their religion to Islam to get married.
Experts have termed the forced changes of religion as a "carefully-planned"
step designed to ensure that the victims do not receive the support of
their communities and to leave scope for the criminals to get away without
punishment.
"It is only natural that the perpetrators of such crime would want to
ensure that the victim cannot go back to her community or get its support.
So they have devised this strategy and by forcing her to change her
religion, they effectively ensure the victim cannot escape and go back and
that no steps are taken by her community to free her and take her back,"
Advocate Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers
Association (BNWLA), explained to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
However, there is no sign of concrete steps being taken by the government
or social organisations for curbing these attacks or to rehabilitate the
victims.
The distress of the victims is evident in a letter sent to her father by
Kakoli Haider (not her real name). The 13-year-old was asleep in her bed
when five Muslim men invaded and vandalised their home a year back. She
screamed and fought back only to be easily overpowered by the criminals who
took her away.
Three months later, she communicated with her parents through a letter to
her father where she said she felt like dying as the criminals had forced
her to convert to Islam and one of them had married her in a ruse to
'legalise' their crime.
Ranu Saha (not her real name), a 16-year-old Hindu girl, was also
victimised in a similar incident last year. She was abducted from where she
was staying with her brother in Patuakhali's Bauphal area and was similarly
forced to convert by the criminals.
In recent years, the alarming rate of increase in violence against women
has forced the government to enact stringent measures via the Women and
Children Repression Prevention Act 2002 (amended 2003), Acid Control Act
2002 and Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act 2010.
However experts feel that the situation has barely improved and are calling
for the government to put more effort in training law enforcers to deal
with these types of crime.
"We can never overstate the relevance of legislation for control of crime
and violence. However, on its own, legislation will have no bearing if it
is not enforced," Action Aid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir said
in her reaction to the inhuman attack on Prima.
She pointed out that law enforcers initially refuse to accept kidnapping
charges in such incidents and try to tag such crimes as love affairs. They
overlook the issue of forced conversion which is "very unfortunate."
Bangladesh Mohila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam said enacting more laws
would not address the problem. "We, therefore, need to identify the root
causes first and then formulate a better strategy to overcome the problem."
When questioned about why the parishad has not taken any step yet, Ayesha
said, "We are trying to observe the situation. We will take effective step."
State minister of women affairs, Meher Afroz Chumky said gender
sensitisation and issues of women rights and equality should be
included in the present education system. She added the media could
play an important role in creating awareness and in calling on law
enforcers to properly attend to the victims. "We will communicate with
the home ministry to solve these problems."
From: sri venkat
Date: Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 4:59 AM
Subject: Bangladesh: Forced conversion of religion after abduction
To:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/crime/2013/jun/27/forced-conversion-religion-after-abduction-goes-unchecked
Created on June 27, 2013 at 13:01Forced conversion of religion after
abduction
Udisa Islam <http://www.dhakatribune.com/author/udisa-islam>
A new phenomenon where men kidnap 10-16-year-old girls from minority
communities and force them to sign declarations that they are adults and
wish to change their religion to Islam to get married
Human rights groups and NGOs are calling for more action to be taken to
prevent a spate of abductions and rapes of women, who have reportedly also
then been forced to convert to Islam as part of a "carefully-planned"
strategy to reduce support for victims from their communities after the
crime is perpetrated.
Prima (not her real name), a sixth grader from Gazipur's Tongi area, was
abducted on her way back from school on April 6 this year.
Law enforcers found her 55 days later at a hotel in Cox's Bazaar. She had
been raped repeatedly by some boys from her locality during the period and
was forced to convert her religion from Hinduism to Islam and marry one of
the perpetrators, Rabiul Hossein Manik.
Experts say Prima's traumatic experience was not an isolated case, but part
of a new phenomenon where men kidnap 10-16year old girls from minority
communities and force them to sign declarations that they are adults and
wish to change their religion to Islam to get married.
Experts have termed the forced changes of religion as a "carefully-planned"
step designed to ensure that the victims do not receive the support of
their communities and to leave scope for the criminals to get away without
punishment.
"It is only natural that the perpetrators of such crime would want to
ensure that the victim cannot go back to her community or get its support.
So they have devised this strategy and by forcing her to change her
religion, they effectively ensure the victim cannot escape and go back and
that no steps are taken by her community to free her and take her back,"
Advocate Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers
Association (BNWLA), explained to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
However, there is no sign of concrete steps being taken by the government
or social organisations for curbing these attacks or to rehabilitate the
victims.
The distress of the victims is evident in a letter sent to her father by
Kakoli Haider (not her real name). The 13-year-old was asleep in her bed
when five Muslim men invaded and vandalised their home a year back. She
screamed and fought back only to be easily overpowered by the criminals who
took her away.
Three months later, she communicated with her parents through a letter to
her father where she said she felt like dying as the criminals had forced
her to convert to Islam and one of them had married her in a ruse to
'legalise' their crime.
Ranu Saha (not her real name), a 16-year-old Hindu girl, was also
victimised in a similar incident last year. She was abducted from where she
was staying with her brother in Patuakhali's Bauphal area and was similarly
forced to convert by the criminals.
In recent years, the alarming rate of increase in violence against women
has forced the government to enact stringent measures via the Women and
Children Repression Prevention Act 2002 (amended 2003), Acid Control Act
2002 and Domestic Violence (Prevention & Protection) Act 2010.
However experts feel that the situation has barely improved and are calling
for the government to put more effort in training law enforcers to deal
with these types of crime.
"We can never overstate the relevance of legislation for control of crime
and violence. However, on its own, legislation will have no bearing if it
is not enforced," Action Aid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir said
in her reaction to the inhuman attack on Prima.
She pointed out that law enforcers initially refuse to accept kidnapping
charges in such incidents and try to tag such crimes as love affairs. They
overlook the issue of forced conversion which is "very unfortunate."
Bangladesh Mohila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam said enacting more laws
would not address the problem. "We, therefore, need to identify the root
causes first and then formulate a better strategy to overcome the problem."
When questioned about why the parishad has not taken any step yet, Ayesha
said, "We are trying to observe the situation. We will take effective step."
State minister of women affairs, Meher Afroz Chumky said gender
sensitisation and issues of women rights and equality should be
included in the present education system. She added the media could
play an important role in creating awareness and in calling on law
enforcers to properly attend to the victims. "We will communicate with
the home ministry to solve these problems."
--
sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity
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