In any society, laws and social norms function together to control individual behaviours, maintain societal order, and uphold the rights of the citizen.
Despite their coexistence in society, they function differently and under separate forms of authority. Law is generally a binding, formally defined set of rules backed by a controlling authority, whereas social norms are common standards of acceptable behaviour within a society that originate from shared concepts, cultural practices, or traditions.
However, when the law conflicts with social norms, people often prioritize social norms over the law, leading them to breach laws.
When it comes to law, the constitution of Bangladesh serves as the highest controlling authority to establish justice. Article 7 of the Constitution states that any law inconsistent with it is void. This article guarantees that no action can go beyond the limits of the Constitution and serves as the foundation for the country's judicial system.
However, a close examination of reality shows that while the Constitution and other laws have the authority to govern society exclusively, it does not completely control society; rather, social norms have a big influence.
In certain areas, societal norms make such a significant impact that existing laws go unenforced.
For example, child marriage remains a major issue in Bangladesh, although there exist both national and international legal frameworks to address it. To tackle this societal disorder, the Child Marriage Restriction Act was enacted in 2017. It has provisions that penalize anyone involved in child marriage.
Nonetheless, the issue persists in our society at a high rate. The current legal framework is not functioning as planned, and progress is extremely slow.
One of the main obstacles to development is our patriarchal social norms, which view marrying off girls as a solution.
The parents suffer enormous societal pressures due to many factors such as the girl's physical safety and security, financial hardships, and a lack of education. These lead the parents to arrange early marriage without considering the negative consequences of it.
As a result, societal norms take dominance over existing laws and policies intended for preventing child marriage.
Another example is the practice of dowry, which continues to pose significant challenges. The legislation enacted the Dowry Prohibition Act in 2018 but the practice of dowry persists. Several factors contribute, including patriarchal norms, family honour, societal pressures, illiteracy, etc. In many circumstances, the victim gets no legal help at all and instead face serious psychological and physical abuse, which somtimes leads to femicide or suicide.
The situation of domestic abuse is also very severe in Bangladesh, affecting many women daily. Although the legislation enacted the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010, to specifically counter this issue, the situation nonetheless remains alarming.
Gender inequality is one of the factors that perpetuates the belief that women are inferior to men, resulting in violence against them. Domestic violence against women is often tolerated by the community, which makes it difficult to fully implement the rule of law.
Even in matters of inheritance, women in Bangladesh often find themselves at a disadvantage. Although the Constitution and other domestic laws enshrined the principles of equality and non-discrimination and took the stance of zero tolerance, the struggle of women's rights to inheritance continues. The discriminatory social and cultural norms make it challenging for women to get their legal right of inheritance.
People in Bangladesh adhere to harmful social norms like dowry, domestic violence, or child marriage simply because of the customs or practices exercised by the society. For some people, societal standards are significantly more essential than codified laws. The inclination to prioritize social norms above laws results in a weakened relationship with the law, rendering it ineffective.
Bangladesh’s legislation has consistently taken a firm stance in favour of the rule of law and intervened many times, declaring certain harmful social norms illegal. Nevertheless, the negative influence of social norms continues to overpower existing laws and policies. That negative influence poses a major challenge for the legislation to persuade those people to comply with the laws.
To make the rule of law more effective, a reformative approach needs to be taken. Enacting punitive laws and punishing the offender will not develop the situation. Rather, the people whose actions contradict the rule of law need to be reformed in a way that would gradually change the mindset and culture.
The ultimate objective should be to educate society by making the citizens aware so that they understand how some social norms negatively impact their lives. However, shifting social perceptions would not be sufficient to solve the issue; rather, the state must play a significant role.
This begins by restoring public trust in government and judicial institutions. People will only willfully challenge those negative social norms if they have trust in the judicial institutions. To achieve this, the judicial institution must become more effective and transparent.
Juwel Kobir is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.