Despite a number of laws and ordinances criminalising dowry and related violence against women, victims are increasingly seeking solutions outside the court as legal battles cost too much and take too long for them to bear.
Many victims believe if they take their cases to court they do not always stand the chance of winning, especially in the absence of physical evidence and witnesses to corroborate for them, or they think that by reporting incidents they invite further harassment. As a result families and victims are discouraged from pursuing legal action.
Anti-dowry activists say most incidents of dowry-related violence in Bangladesh go unreported and in cases where there are deaths – with victims murdered or driven to suicide – the families would rather come to a “compromise” than go to court.
“Contrary to our expectations, domestic violence against women especially because of dowry has increased, largely thanks to lack of implementation of the existing laws and slack monitoring of law enforcement officials,” said Advocate Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA).
In total, 255 women suffered dowry-related violence in the first six months of this year, according to a recent report by rights organisation Odhikar. Of them, 163 women were harassed and tortured, 86 were murdered for failing to meet demands for dowry and six women committed suicide.
An ICDDRB research paper on incidents of “dowry and spousal physical violence against women” concluded that women married without demands for dowry were less frequently abused than those who were expected to pay dowry.
It said that nearly 88% of married women in rural areas were expected to give dowries and a large number of them faced various kinds of torture if they failed to do so.
Sources said, as rates of dowry deaths rise, so do people’s tendencies to come to mutually-beneficial out of court compromises, with relatives of victims paid various amounts in compensation.
18-year-old Halima from Dinajpur was married at 16. Her husband and in-laws started demanding dowry from the third day into her marriage and she was often tortured, even during her pregnancy and after the birth of a daughter a year later.
Two years into the marriage, one morning Halima’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan. Her father, tired of the endless demands made by his son-in-law and his family, wanted to file a case against them but a neighbour convinced him not to. Instead the two families came to an “understanding” that Halima’s family would not take legal action and the husband’s family would pay them Tk65,000 as compensation for Halima’s death.
Advocate Ali said victims’ relatives agree to a compromise out of fears for security, or because they think a court battle might just be too costly or too lengthy. She said there are also concerns that they might not get any justice at all.
She said: “The government would do well by arranging speedy trials for all cases related to dowry-violence, which would ensure quick justice and remove doubts and unease from the minds of victims’ families.”
Lawyer Elina Khan also emphasised on the need for speedy trials in such cases. She said: “Some women do not want to pursue legal battles against their husbands fearing the consequences, but they are mostly from poor backgrounds and do not want to lose the shelter provided by husbands. These reasons primarily lead to out of court compromises reached by many families.”
State Minister for Women and Child Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki said: “We are trying our best to reduce the rate of violence against women. But if they do not come forward themselves and file cases, how would we know they are being tortured?”