Law Analysis
Loopholes in law makes justice difficult
Jahangir Alam Sarker
The women litigants of Bangladesh are deprived of variously from justice for weakness in legal framework. The personal laws promulgated during the British colonial regime are in force till now in our country. In many of those laws inequality has been shown towards women. The women are victims in the hand of inequality in all aspects of there lives from age to age. In the last century the women made advances in socio-economic field amidst innumerable hindrances but it is reputed that cruelty to women has not decreased. The extent of cruelty has increased gradually day by day. Although there are laws in the state level yet they failed to establish the right of women and to assure justice to the litigant women.
Needless to say the most important feature in order to secure justice is that the state laws shall have to be friendly to women. If the state law becomes friendly to women it will be easy to ensure justice to women to a greater extent. It is astonishing to think that the women are the victims of greedy man in the state which claims that there is the highest possibility of the full development of the freedom of women. Our past experience reminds us that the social prestige of women has been trembled down from age to the age. In spite of the abolition of the usage of self immolation of Hindu wife in her dead husband's pyre, child-marriage, and oppression, right of the women in state level could not have been established in full in our social system. That the women are afraid of various kinds of malpractices and usage such as dowry, killing, abduction, realization of dowry, throwing up of acid etc become the head lines in the newspaper.
Simultaneously with the degradation of law and order in the state level, oppression of women is advancing on contests. For different causes, the woman remains behind in getting justice. On the face of the violent demand of the women headed organizations to remove this type of national difference in providing in justice the government promulgated the Family Court ordinance on the 17th June, 1985. It was presumed that the Family court law ordinance of 1985 would play an epoch-making role in maintaining the rights of the women. But it is with grief to say after the laps of 25 years it is observed that the side of success of this law is so scanty that it could not yielded a laughing face to the women. Some other consequential expenses are in existences which have not been fixed up although court fee payable (to the plaint) has been fixed up. As a result there is nothing worth mentioning for which the deprived village women are getting in this respect.
In to-days discussion on proper cause I shall remain confined in applied problem of the family Courts. The reason for which the women communities of Bangladesh are confronted to the alarming situation inspite of the existence of the family courts ordinance of 1985. Let me venture to discuss them categorically bellow viz;
1. According to section: 4 of the Family Courts Ordinance of 1985, all assistance judges court shall be treated as Family Courts that means family courts are not getting special consideration. So we can say speedy trail is far off, i.e. the lengthy process of getting legal aid for the women does not come to an end;
2. As per provisions of law only disputes in five matters like dissolution of marriage, restitution of conjugal rights, dower, maintenance, guardianship & caretaking of children may be solved in the family court but is the life of the women and it's reality confined within the five subjects? The answer is very easy never, rather a vast part of her life has been excluded which is beyond the scope of this law. Consistently this law and the court are not sufficient to change the problem and the position of women's life.
3. Family courts being empowered to deal with civil powers only, it is not possible to solve the criminal problems of the families through these courts resulting stern reality of the women remains tact.
4. Though provision for fixed court fee has been made yet there are many consequential expenses which have not been fixed up resulting in that the disadvantaged village women are not getting any facilities worth mentioning in this sphere.
5. According to the section: 20 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, no procedure of the of the civil procedure code except section: 10 & 11 shall apply to any procedures which are brought in the family court. For prevalence of this law or provision of the Family Court Ordinance, 1985 is not a self sufficient law.
Lastly it may be said that the present situation is not desirable to anyone for the well establishment of the honour of women. For ensuring justice towards women it is necessary to treat women as human with full privilege for development. It is to be bear in mind that women & man is not opponent to one another. It is the demand of time to make the Family laws ordinance a women friendly law removing those problems. For the greater interests of the women the concerned authority will consider demand which is the expectation of about 16 crore of general people of Bangladesh.
The writer is a Lawyer & Human Rights Activist.
