Fame and shame in politics

Photo: IMAGEZOO

Out of the last four decades since independence, two female leaders elected through popular votes ruled for almost half the period. Let us talk today about women in politics. Nowhere in the world, except Bangladesh, have a female prime minister and a female opposition leader ruled successively for two decades.
The story of female leadership in politics does not end here. We have been blessed with numerous female ministers, MPs and advisors since 1991. Not to mention the unelected female MPs drafted into the parliament on a proportional basis during each term. In politics, it seems, balancing the gender cause has been working well in Bangladesh. Over the last three decades, we have also been repeatedly hearing from our NGO friends how female NGO leaders have been dedicating their lives to fighting for the rights, privileges and empowerment of women.
Having said all this, the time has come to take account of the performance of the women in politics as they are accountable to the people. When one hears about the increased cases of rapes, discrimination, and fatwabaji against women in recent years, the empowerment claim sounds misplaced. Of course, Bangladesh is no longer in the dark ages, particularly rural areas. Every village has UP members (including elected female members), NGOs are present of in some shape or form, and at least one-quarter of villagers have mobile phones.
We know that rural Bangladesh has been going through rapid socio-economic changes. However, these changes have also been bringing with them several by-products. For instance, physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape are common occurrences nowadays. While economic vulnerabilities of rural women are being overcome slowly, social vulnerabilities are increasing at an alarming rate (this writer recently concluded a survey of coastal region for professional purposes, and found some evidence of social vulnerability overtaking economic ones).
It appears that the improvement in the economic situation has been achieved due to the introduction of several pro-poor innovative rural income schemes, such as old age pension, food for works, food rationing for ultra poor, allowances for freedom fighters and so on. Unfortunately, it appears that the governments, past and present, have been failing in protecting the rural women from extrajudicial actions of some self-styled arbitrators, even though there are clear directions set out by the highest court of law in this regard. For example, an HC bench delivered a verdict on July 8, 2010, declared illegal all kinds of extrajudicial punishment, including those in the name of fatwa, under local arbitrations. More importantly, "the bench also ordered the information ministry to run a media campaign to create awareness among people against
extrajudicial punishment."
Has the minister for information and his departmental secretary taken any step to follow this directive given by the nation's highest court? The writer has not seen any campaign towards this end yet. It is time now the government high-ups checks this with the relevant ministry and seek evidence since it is almost two years now since the verdict was pronounced. The ministers for home and religious affairs are equally responsible for such a failure.
One wonders why our female MPs are staying silent in this regard? Why has there been no discussion by female MPs on the floor of the parliament? Instead, what one has been hearing in recent days and weeks is a disgrace and brings shame to some female MPs, to say the least. Even after repeated calls from the chair (speaker) for calm, no one to be seemed to be bothered to comply.
The discipline and resolve shown by the ministry of foreign affairs through winning landmark verdict at the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea in Germany over Myanmar's claim of part of the Bay of Bengal is certainly re-assuring. The female foreign minister, Dr. Dipu Moni, and her staff deserve credit for making the nation proud. The honourable minister is also hopeful about winning the case against India on outstanding maritime matters, which is scheduled for hearing in 2014.
It is time now that the female MPs of both sides learn from their senior colleagues who have been creating examples in their public life and climbing up further in political ladder, together with gaining trust of the people and their respective leaders.

The writer is visitor at the South Asia Institute at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.