A large section of Bangladeshi urban male – especially those from the low-income groups – tend to consult quacks instead of qualified physicians, especially about problems related to sexuality; and the trend has been on the rise.
Everyone, who has ever travelled by a commercial bus must have come across women in burqa – a veil worn mostly by Muslim women – standing at busy intersections and throwing in small leaflets through the windows.
These leaflets advertise for some so called medical houses, who claim that they have literally “magical” solutions to various problems and disease related to sexuality. These advertisements have in recent times been appearing on cable TV as well.
Existing laws suggest that such distribution of leaflets, TV advertisements and sticking posters promising quick solution to problems related to sexuality without governmental consent is illegal. According to a rough estimation, there are around 500 such medical centres in the capital’s Farmgate, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Jatrabari and Sayedabad areas; and the number has been rising.
A few months ago, Shamsher Ali, a resident of Mohammadpur, went to such a “magician” in Kallyanpur to find a solution to “excessive” nocturnal emission – better known as wet dreams.
The “magician,” who claimed himself to be a practitioner of herbal methods, did not have any formal education on medical science. His diagnosis was that Shamsher, a young man in his twenties, had been thinking too much about sexual intercourses resulting in the “excessive” nocturnal emissions. The “doctor” gave him some herb roots to consume and told him not to worry because he would be cured in a few days.
Shamsher duly followed the prescription for three months. The only thing to have happened in these three months was a higher frequency of emissions.
The leaflet that drew Shamsher to the “magician,” said the fees would be returned if the patient did not get cured. Neither has Shamsher got better, nor has he managed to get the return.
Various researches suggest that frequent nocturnal emission is a very normal physical condition for adolescent and early adult male. Shamsher has very little idea about this.
This correspondent recently met a couple in the capital’s Mirpur area who said they had failed to give birth to a child despite trying all scientific means. After watching an ad on local cable TV, they had come to a so called herbal medicine centre, looking for a solution to their futility.
There are some other medical centres, who also claim to use herbal means to make skinny people healthier and obese ones slimmer. Almost none of these medical centres have any government approval either. An employee of one of these centres told the Dhaka Tribune that their main customers were labourers and middle-aged men and women.
According to the Drugs (Control) Ordinance 1982 amended in 1997, the publication of advertisements relating to the use of drugs or any claim about therapies or treatments without prior approval of licensing authority is illegal. Such offences are punishable with rigorous imprisonment of up to three years and/or fines of up to Tk2 Lakh.
Medicine practitioner Dr Govinda Shil said: “The problem is they do not know the proper dosage even if they use the right chemicals. An improper dose can be really harmful.”
He also said: “We have been talking about these mal treatments for more than a decade. But nothing has changed. Whenever media focuses on it, the government makes some moves. Then everything goes back to square one.”
Ruhul Amin, deputy director of the Department of Narcotics Control, said: “Some criminals take advantage of Illiterate people, who often confuse these treatments as herbal methods. We are continuously monitoring their activities.”