By The Numbers
Same sad story
I am just retelling the same sad story that a younger columnist Zafar Sobhan told in his column on July 11. Zafar told Suma's story in emphatic words that really touched the heart of every reader. I am going to tell Roni's story, the circumstances and harrowing details of which are sadly similar to Suma's. In my story, the victim is Roni, who was also burnt in the lust of a beast. Suma was preparing herself to sit for the SSC examination next year while Roni's HSC examination was going on this year. And that is all the little difference between the two horrific stories of Suma and Roni. Badly burnt, both the girls are now fighting for life in the burn unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Nur-e-Jannat Roni of Monohorpur village in Rangpur was a student of a local school. A few local ruffians started teasing her on her way to and from school. Their teasing and harassment increased after she had passed SSC in 2004 and these ruffians started coming up with marriage proposals.
While her parents were confused about what they should do, they met one Nasiruddin Shuvo, who allegedly introduced himself as a DGFI field-level constable and came forward with assurance to help them. After a few months Shuvo also started teasing Roni on her way to and from college as his proposal for marriage with Roni was refused.
Shuvo threatened Roni's parent a few days ago to give their daughter to him in marriage or to face the dire consequences. Eventually, the threat was carried out on June 7, when Roni went to bed at night after wrapping up her preparation for the next day's examination.
Roni wake up at midnight as she felt something oily on her body. Sitting up, she found her body and bed soaked with some oily substance. She purportedly heard the voice of Shuvo near the window. He threw a lighted matchstick on her.
She shouted for help but could not get out of the room as it was locked from the outside. Hearing her cry, her father rushed out to see flames engulfing the room inside. Breaking into the room, Roni's father found that fire has already burnt her face, throat, breasts, abdomen, and hands. She was rushed to Rangpur Medical College Hospital where the doctors referred her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital immediately.
If we turn to the recent past, we come across lots of women who had been subjected to similar barbaric incidents, most of which relating to dowry, unrequited love, or for rejection of marriage proposals. But the most frustrating part in these brutalities is that the perpetrators were hardly given any exemplary punishment, as there are so many loopholes in the laws.
We have also witnessed suicidal deaths of so many promising girls in the recent past only to get respite from the incessant teasing. Trisa, Simi, Selina, Salma, Rumi, Fahima, Rini, Luna and Indrani are just the tip of the iceberg, whom we have known by virtue of media. They are but a few in the long list of the teasing victims, who were so harassed or teased by the hoodlums that they were forced to commit suicide.
The criminality of the tormentors to Sumi and Roni, in no way is less grave compared to the brutalities where girls were forced to take their own lives unable to bear the terrible agony of teasing and harassment. The acid and petrol victims like Sumi and Roni, if they finally survive, are compelled to lead a very miserable life, may be even less preferable to death.
With the increasing incidence of physical persecution of women, the appalling crimes committed recently against Sumi and Roni can no longer be dismissed as isolated instances as so many young women in almost all parts of the country have been subjected to such brutality. The same sad story all of them have.
The logical question that comes up here is that these ghastly crimes could not continue unabated if the law enforcers had not failed to deal firmly with such crimes. One really fails to understand how the hoodlums can carry out harassment of young women day after day if the law enforcers sincerely play their role.
As committing of such ghastly crimes against women still remains a persistent criminality in the society, the whole society cannot also evade their responsibility of having failed to protect their sisters and daughters of becoming victims of barbaric crimes. It is not a long ago, when there was social resistance against teasing and harassment of women. But very few people now feel obliged to protest such offences.
There are at least a dozen organisations that have been working for socio-economic and political emancipation of women in the country. And yet the truth staring us in the face is that, emancipation of women exists only in theory, not in practice.
What seems particularly shocking to the case of Roni is that the main culprit Shuvo himself is allegedly a member of law enforcing agency, a field-level constable of DGFI. We advocate exemplary punishment for those involved in these tragedies, but a culprit like Nasiruddin Shuvo deserves exemplary punishment to deter others like him from committing such crimes.
The government, however, has tightened the laws, enacting the Acid Control Act 2002 and the Acid Crime Control Act 2002 to stop acid violence and similar other brutal attacks. Situation has also improved as the number of acid attacks reduced to 156 in 2007 from 367 in 2002. Strict enforcement of these laws and sincerity of the law enforcers in investigating such cases can help in reducing occurrences of ghastly crimes including acid attacks.
Silence of the society has also contributed to an increase in such brutal crimes to women. Alongside the existing legal instruments, social deterrent must also be strengthened to protect the weaker section of people against the criminality of the tormentors. Social organisations and NGOs working in this area should come forward to support the victims as they belong to poor families who are unable to fight legal battles against the tormentors.
Though the country takes pride for the modest progress it made in empowering the women, oppression to women is an area that has permeated all pores of success. Throwing of acid or setting on fire after pouring petrol on body still remains as a potent weapon to punish young women for unrequited lust or spurned marriage proposal. These ghastly practices have also put the mainstream society to shame as we have failed to protect our girls from being the victims of ultimate barbarism.
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