The document discusses the challenges faced by a Hindu woman in Bangladesh. It describes how she was pressured and abused by a religious leader to provide him money. When she refused, he threatened and physically assaulted her. Her family also faced financial difficulties, with her father having to sell land to pay the religious leader. The woman struggled to care for her children amid the ongoing harassment and demands for money from the leader. She was only able to escape the situation by moving back in with her parents.
1. Demand of Hindu Women in Bangladesh
Prepared by: Jhuma Halder
UNCEDAW is the bill of rights for women which demands for international and national
mechanism through which women can claim and address their rights. In this context, the
significance of CEDAW is the principal legal instrument addressing women’s rights and
equality, and discrimination against women that prohibits any distinction, exclusion or
restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or
nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital
status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. However, its
uniqueness lies in its mandate for the achievements of substantive equality for women
requiring not only formal legal equality but also equality of results in real terms. In
Bangladesh, women’s development approach and empowerment issues are not equal. The
application of national laws does not permit to go forward all women due to religious
discrimination. By identifying that discrimination is socially constructed and those laws,
policies and practices can unintentionally have the “effect” of discrimination against
women. Equally needs equal opportunity.
Similar to 187 countries, Bangladesh government had signed in UNCEDAW on 6
December 1984 with some reservations. Nevertheless, as a people’s republic of
Bangladesh, our Government how much advancement did for women community at their
family, society, culture level to minimize discrimination among the all religion! Religion
is expected to keep human society united. We the religious minority women are not
getting equal opportunity to claim our rights equally where as the majority women can
claim. On the other hand, gradually increasing minority women repression addresses the
necessary actions to improve this situation. While CEDAW sets the place for a dynamic
proactive approach to women’s advancement, it intrinsically embedded values of social
norms and cultural practices. At the same time, socio-religious aspects create various
barriers to be unequal proportion of opportunity at national level. It is undoubtedly
acknowledged, the present Government is very sensitize to be equal for all community,
but practically we do not perceive it at all the religious community specially Hindus.
Nonetheless, unequal Hindu Law determines discrimination between the majority and
minority women. If the law national laws do not allow equality women to women, how
international norms or legal system protect the Bangladeshi all women!
For this reason, we urge to revise orthodox Hindu Law for protecting religious minority
women on this day to implement women’s human rights equally at national level as well
as international level and withdrawn the reservation from CEDAW.