We appreciate the initiative taken by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) to create a trained group of social workers. The task is undoubtedly challenging as it involves working with people at grassroots level where more often than not women rights violation manifests with all its ugliness and damaging side effects. This requires proper highlighting of gender issues, knowledge, networking and human rights intervention in the communities. It is encouraging to note that people who had resisted such arbitration attempts in the past, like local elders, UP chairmen and religious leaders, are now able to perceive the good side of the programme.

With the legal system losing its past credibility fast, no doubt such local level arbitration efforts would solve problems as well as save money and harassment of the simple village folks, who otherwise would have to go to the sub-districts or districts to seek justice. We understand at present such local level arbitration is being conducted in 12 districts, but with the good response coming from there, we feel the training programme should encompass the entire country.

In the male-dominated society women fall victim to all sorts of abuse and violation that the existing legal system cannot handle properly. In many South and South-East Asian countries the panchayet system is still in vogue in remote rural areas to settle minor disputes. We feel the arbitration system could pick up some good features from the traditional panchayet system to make it more acceptable to the local level people.