The New Nation - Internet Edition

Tayeb Husain

Acid attack and dowry menace becoming common news from Bangladesh. Yesterday, 2nd March 08, I read an utmost pathetic story in a Dhaka daily about an 18 years old girl, a victim of acid attack by nobody but her illustrious husband. The girl's name is Nila and the name of the criminal husband is Akbar.

Nila was married to this Akbar, an ex-expatriate from Saudi Arabia. He did not demand any dowry and there was no quarrel for which Akbar, the horrendous monster, attacked Nila with acid in the middle of the night. What Nila recalls is that the fiend was angry at her because she wanted to visit her parents. He was very upset for such a very trifle matter. Nila tried to settle the issue but the cruel beast did not calm down. After dinner he went to the market, bought some acid and at mid night when Nila woke up she saw him sitting on a chair with his eyes bloodshot out of anger. When she asked him what had happened, the brute just walked up to her with a glassful of acid and poured it down over her head. The action was quick and the result was total destruction of Nila's face and vital organs with deep burns. Nila is now under treatment in a hospital bed. Her normal life, for sure, is fully obliterated if she survived. A monster who was her husband could do such a heinous act on this poor unfortunate girl. My heart bleeds at the tragedy that occurred due to deliberate act by a criminal called the husband.

Today, 3rd Feb, I read another sad story in the same daily again about a 22 years young housewife with a 3 year old child who died at Dhaka Medical College hospital on Feb 22 early in the morning. The young housewife's name is Rupa Begum and she died after her husband and in-laws allegedly set her on fire as Rupa's family refused to give dowry. Rupa was married in 2003 with one Manik Bepari and her family gave Tk 50,000, gold ornaments and furniture worth Tk one lakh as dowry. After six month Manik and his family demanded Tk one lakh again for sending Manik to Saudi Arabia. They often tortured Rupa to get the demand fulfilled and on Feb 22 after an argument Manik and his family members set Rupa on fair in the early hours at about 04:00; ninety percent of her body was burnt and she died after 10 days.

These sorts of news reports from Bangladesh are the worst sorts of criminal stories one can read in the Bangladeshi media. What has gone wrong with the people there? How on earth one can be so cruel and inhuman to a fellow human being? We know life is tough and poverty is rampant but Bangladesh was never such a land of criminals as it is today than it was, say 35 years before even though economically the country is much better off than it ever have been. Corruption and criminality seem to be the way of life in Bangladesh. Can something be done about it? Let Bangladesh government and the civil society ponder for a while and let them do something to cure, at least, the two above mentioned diseases.

The cases of acid throwing and setting fire on women are crimes that need immediate action and it can not and should not wait one more day. These sorts of crimes are horrendous and equally merciless action must be taken against those who commit such crimes.

I am against all sorts of capital punishments; it is against human dignity and no doubt it becomes a crime against a crime. Nobody has the right to take someone's life for whatever the excuse it may be. For taking an action by which someone, even a criminal, is killed by firing squad or by hanging by the authority is no good. Life is precious by all means. But in a country like Bangladesh and when acid throwing and setting fire on women have become a common crime, I strongly recommend that capital punishment be the norm and only punishment for crime like such.

Action against dowry is also over due. Girls from Bangladesh's Hindu community were the victims of this crime for centuries. Now it has become a norm even among the Muslims. That is great same and a crime against the woman folk. There should be laws, if there are no such laws as yet in Bangladesh that forbid acid throwing, setting fire and dowry taking. These sorts of offences should be punished properly specially the first two crimes. Acid throwers and woman burners, without giving a second thought, should be executed by firing squad or by hanging. I suggest that the military backed caretaker government evoke this type of law immediately and use it mercilessly against acid throwers or woman burners.

I beg to readers for forgiveness for suggesting such a law but considering the graveness of the crime I endorse and even go further to say that such a criminal may be executed publicly in city squares. Horrendous crimes need to be tackled by equally ruthless means.

Dowry is a criminal act and it shows utmost dishonour to women. Anybody who claims dowry should be considered a criminal and by ruthless law such a criminal should be punished. Huge fine and even 3-5 years jail sentence may be introduced as punishment for anybody who demands dowry or agree to paid dowry. It is time that Bangladesh learns to respect and protect her woman folk.