Intolerance hurting women's progress

The rise of extremist ideologies and intolerance continue to harm women despite their considerable empowerment and advancement towards equality in the country, Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain said yesterday.

“Despite an impressive progress, there is no room for complacency. We shall have to go a long way for the complete eradication of violence against women and girls and establishment of true equality,” he told a workshop in a hotel in the capital.

Meanwhile, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana of the Appellate Division of Supreme Court viewed that though all had the right to justice, female victims of sexual violence were often denied justice due to bias of law enforcement agencies and a lack of adequate training of prosecutors and judges.

The daylong workshop, "Access to Justice for the Victim of Domestic and Sexual Violence", was jointly organised by Bangladesh Women Judges Association and the International Association of Women Judges.

The chief justice said, “It is to be noted that good laws and best policies alone are not enough to end centuries-old inequality and disparities, which are deeply ingrained in cultures, customs, values and norms of both man and woman in developed and developing countries.”

He also said, “I think the trial of sexual and domestic violence cases should be held in camera.” In several cases, the International Crimes Tribunals had taken testimonies of victims of sexual violence in camera where only judges, prosecutor, defence counsel, witness and testimony writer were present, he said.

Turning to women's legal rights, Justice Nazmun Ara said, “...in reality the women of Bangladesh are facing multipronged problems and discriminations in many areas including the justice sector.”

She said a victim of violence faced the first hurdle at the police station while registering a complaint. “They often meet with abusive treatment at police stations. Women who were raped or physically assaulted often find that they are insulted and treated as if they are the guilty, not the victims.”

Calling for training of judges and prosecutors, Justice Nazmura Ara cited an example of a trial in which an accused rapist was set free because the victim did not sufficiently resist the man during the rape.