From the June Archives

On 1st June 2013, Chief of the Madrassah based Hefajat-e-Islam,  Shah Ahmed Shafi, warned that the UN should keep in mind the country’s ‘‘internal culture, religious rites, national feelings and mentality’’, that the country was ninety per cent muslim and that ”Muslim’s prioritise their religious conventions and directives”. He commented Rashida Manjoo’s comments as a ”vicious move” to ruin the peaceful state of the country. This compelled me to write my observations after seeing this very remarkable lady speak on the first day of her visit.

On the 21st of May, Bangladesh and Legal Aid Services Trust (BLAST) organised an inspiring lecture at the University of Dhaka. The circumstances were not ordinary, the Bangladesh government only recently allowed the Special Rapporteur for Violence against women to enter the country. She is the first Independent expert, reporting for the UN to enter.  Rashida Manjoo and her team embarked on an intensive ten day research and reporting mission, meeting various rights groups and organisations at state and district levels.

The mandate of the Rapporteur on violence against women focuses on collecting information from various civil, cultural, economic, political and social spheres and then recommending measures to eliminate the causes and consequences of violence against women.

Responsibilities of the Rapporteur ”Seek and receive information on violence against women, its causes and consequences from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, other special rapporteurs responsible for various human rights questions and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including women’s organizations, and to respond effectively to such information;”.

Dr Kamal Hossain, a former UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan welcomed Rashida with a few interesting points which set the scene for the situation in Bangladesh, he mentioned the Islamic revivalism which negated women’s rights, where there was a perverse interpretation of Islam which is attempting to drive an imaginary wedge between religious and nationalist aspirations. He concluded his introduction saying the 21st century was the time for gender equality.

The ‘F’ Word has become a Dirty Word

­­­­Rashida Manjoo has been working within this mandate for nineteen years, she spoke about how Feminism has become a dirty word as if it were an isolated issue. She explained how the government had the responsibility to act with due diligence to ”prevent, investigate,  and in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence committed against women”. She highlighted that the killing of women is an ultimate act of violence, when impunity is the norm, this normalises death. Due to the government not addressing this issue, holding perpetrators accountable, male violence against women becomes acceptable and inevitable, therefore more women are being killed.

Rashida Manjoo drew on various examples from the countries she had reported on, from femicide to infanticide in India, honor killings in the Middle East, custodial violence, violence against women in psychiatric units, forced sterilisation on disabled women, early marriages. She emphasised the importance of asking questions, what are we doing about it as a community? Which areas are failure of the state? Her impressive experience is reflected in her detailed and well defined approach. She had served as a Parliamentary commissioner of the Commission on Gender Equality in South Africa and prior to that she designed content and trained judges and lawyers in the University of Cape town where she is currently teaching part time as a Professor in the Department of Public Law.

Interestingly, she stated how the government does not collect or record the data around violations therefore they cannot monitor or act accordingly. In Bangladesh, it is the Non Governmental Organisations which record the incidents and cases, so on her nine day visit, her team travelled around the country meeting with various organisations to collect and research manifestations of violence against women, these were divided into four areas:

• In the Family – Both Domestic Violence and cultural practices that are violent to subordinate women
• In the community – Including rape/sexual assault, sexual harassment
• Violence perpetrated or condoned by the state – Institutional violence
• Violence in the transnational sphere – Violence against immigrant women, asylum seekers and refugees.

”Women make up 50% of the population, if 50% of our population faces violation – How can we talk about Peace?”

Rashida advised the government to focus on the layers of abuse, a ”one size fits all” approach would not succeed in eliminating violence against women. Two solutions Rashida mentioned were :

• By collecting the cases and data, understanding the unacceptable norms of violence becoming part of the culture. Closer look at how to address the realities on the ground, commitment of government resources, the sensitising of the police and related judicial branches, these issues came under the government’s responsibility for prevention under developed due diligence.
• Offering a holistic approach, closer examination through a ”holistic lense”, looking at which areas forms of discrimination and oppression have been allowed to flourish, the impact on society and also looking at the inter generational effect on women.

”Feminism is not rocket science”

She emphasised researching different areas, groups, industries and the issues women face in order to understand why human rights violations against women are rising. ”Mainstreaming has become the norm”, Rashida posed whether we were engaging and asking younger women about their career paths?

”The major challenge lies in how the government approaches this dichotomy in women’s issues and religion”

When talking about religion, she mentioned how religion was being used to govern women, the challenge lies in the interpretations and religious customs which vary, she said ”if you rely on text as law, there are a multitude of interpretations”. Her very practical approach was solutions based, offering a system where interpretation needed to enter a codification process, encouraging traditions which evolved around taking best practice.

When Rashida was asked about the effectiveness of the UN, her honest answer gave insight into the importance of using this tool and mechanism. She said; ” The UN is a government of governments, huge expectations lead to huge disappointments, however, it is the only system we have so we have to look at ways of improving it”. Through the legally binding framework, reporting and assessment, governments have the opportunity to use this process as a systematic, transformational tool. The recent Universal Periodic Review which Bangladesh underwent on 29th April 2013 provided a platform for member states to make recommendations, it depends on the public and civil society to hold the government to account and use these tools and measures.

Now looking back at the Hefajat chief’s accusation of Rashida’s motives, Hefajat should note that she was not attacking Islam. Hefajat clearly need to reflect on the issues half of the population face and take responsibility. It is not against the religion to prevent forms of violence. Instead of falling back to the blame game culture of batting comments from one side to the other then dragging religion in to it.

Who is to hold a mirror to Hefajat? So they can reflect and take some action as self proclaimed ”guardians of faith”, how would they address the issues their women are facing,  early marriages, physical, psychological, sexual abuse on female children and women, missed opportunities and oppression, poor health, illiteracy and murder. In the Quranic text, repeatedly there is mention of seeking knowledge and living a prescribed live of peace and equality, ”heaven lies at the mothers feet”. Through the looking glass, Hefajat need to recognise their programme needs an upgrade, their interpretations need practical implications, what does Shah Ahmed Shafi have to say to that?

• Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its causes and consequences Rashida Manjoo | 23 May 2012  | Download
• Statement From Rashida Manjoo at the end of her mission in Bangladesh : 29 May 2013 | View
• Her findings from the Bangladesh Mission will be presented to the United Nations in June 2014