Barbarity at its worst
THE entire country appears to be a huge tinder box of crimes -- killing, rape, abduction, acid burning and violence. Sleepy villages, once peaceful abodes, have also been rocked by gruesome incidents of killing and sexual abuses that threaten to destroy the conservative people's paradise.
What is more alarming are the edicts or fatwas issued by the self-styled imams (religious leaders) that subject the rape victims and their families to trauma, humiliation and inhuman punishments like lashing in public or ostracism. In all such arbitration council meetings headed by clerics, the perpetrators are allowed to go scot-free.
A report in a newspaper on February 4 said that a teenage girl and her family in Lalmonirhat have been ostracised through a fatwa issued by the local imam for her pregnancy after she was lured into a physical relationship with one Rezaul (19) of the village. He promised to marry the 13 year old girl, which he didn't even after 9 months into her pregnancy. Rather Rezaul demanded 27 decimals of land as dowry for marrying her and even after the family agreed to offer him 14 decimals, he refused to marry her. Unfortunately, there was none, neither the union council chairman or members or village leaders to stand by them.
But the real story chronicled in painful details is the aftermath: sympathy turned from the victim to the perpetrator and his mentors. The girl went to Rezaul's house to plead with his relations so that Rezaul would marry her, but she was beaten and kicked out of the house. Failing to get justice, the girl's father has filed a case against Rezaul as the last resort. But the law enforcers have not arrested him though he is moving freely in the village.
What happened in a remote Kaliganj village in Jhenidah is hard to believe and harder still to comprehend. Beauty Khatun (22) was married to one Mithu Hossain (25) in 2009. A few months into their marriage, Mithu started torturing her for dowry. Because she could not meet the demand, Mithu divorced her. Last month, he lured her to his home saying that he would marry her again. But she was gang-raped and the entire dirty affair was filmed on a mobile phone. Mithu circulated the video clip through CDs and sent one copy to her brother. When Beauty learnt that her family had come to know everything, she committed suicide.
Even in a country where crimes are committed with such increasing frequency these days by young criminals, there was a feeling of revulsion about the macabre crime committed. The list of the victims continues to swell.
True, crimes and criminality exist in every society but sexual violation of the minors manifests a sort of depravity which unless checked will tear apart the entire social fabric. Every time such dastardly crimes take place, people are outraged and loud protests are voiced by all, especially the human rights activists. But, as it often happens, the alleged offenders and their patrons go away with impunity, and the perpetrators feel emboldened to commit crimes of greater enormity. The law enforcers' alliance with the criminals and their reluctance to tackle these crimes make the situation worse.
The worsening crime situation calls for introspection by all -- parents, law enforcers and the society as a whole. We must all assume our responsibility for being indifferent to the circumstances that breed crimes of this sort. Security of children should be sine qua non of any civilised order and must be guaranteed by the state.
Things have gone so wrong because the governments did not fully understand the meaning of governance. The main reason is that the country has become a "soft" state which is incapable of fighting the forces of violence and crime. On too many occasions, cadre politics and partisan interest have hamstrung police investigation and the judicial process. The blatant and brazen criminal acts have so shaken public confidence in the law enforcement agencies that people are even questioning the need for them.
The resentment generated in the conscious citizenry and the outrage stoked are far from ebbing even days or months after the incidents. Not even the harshest words could reflect the indignation felt throughout the country. The society as a whole must try to root out the fast spreading cancer threatening to destroy the very foundation of morality and peaceful living. Unfortunately, the policy makers and the law makers do not seem to be seriously perturbed. Rather they are locked in a battle of words, mostly outside the parliament, undermining each other and bringing in issues not related to the burning problems like corruption, development efforts, deteriorating law and order and escalating crime.
The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.
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