Dhaka: Morzina Akhtar works day to night every day to arrange her daily meal. She has been working at Dula Mia Cotton Mills in Dagonbhuyan since 2014 following her divorce.

Morzina Akhtar (24), hailed from Razarampur, has to go to Dulamia Cotton Mills everyday to work for ensuring her daily meal as neither her parents nor her second husband look after her.

Following her divorce by first husband, her parents arranged her second marriage with Ali Hossain near her village after giving him Tk 50,000 as dowry. But, after a year of her marriage her husband went to Dhaka and since then he did not go home.

Now, he is trying to divorce her without paying any money. Hence, Morzina has no way to survive without working at the factory.

Advocate Fawzia Karim Firoze, President of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers Association (BNWLA), told this correspondent that the women were harassed in many ways in the country in absence of implementing the existing laws properly.

She also said that no new law is needed to protect women and children rights as there is a number of laws existed to protect their rights.

‘If all existing laws can be implemented properly, the women and children will not suffer anymore,’ she added.

However, the BNWLA president said that the divorce proceedings and guardianship of children after divorce should be amended as the women were harassed before and after their divorce. As per the present provision, in divorce proceedings, women need to prove the validity of their reason for seeking divorce in order to obtain a court order to enforce their rights.

Men, on the other hand, do not need such proof and can divorce their wives at any time without proven reason, she noted.

This provision should be amended by incorporating a new system in the Muslim Marriages and Divorce (Registration) Act 1974, she said.

After the divorce of any women, the guardianship of the children should be specified in the law as there is no specific provision in any law in this regard, she added. According to the existing laws and Constitution women and children are getting protection. Under the Constitution, women’s rights are protected under the broad and universal principles of equality in Article 10 which provides that steps shall be taken to ensure participation of women in all spheres of national life.

As per Articles 36, 39 and 65 of the Constitution, a woman has the right to seek nomination and contest for any political position.

In addition, Bangladesh has specific laws prohibiting certain forms of violence including the Penal Code, 1860, the Anti-Dowry Prohibition Act (1980), the Cruelty to Women Ordinance (1983), the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act (1993), and the Prevention of Repression against Women and Children Act (2000).

Women rights have been specified under the family laws: Muslim Family Ordinance 1961 or the Muslim Marriages and Divorce (Registration) Act 1974.  Hindu parties are regulated by (among others) the Hindu Marriages Disabilities Removal Act 1946 or the Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act 1856.  Christian parties to marriage meanwhile, come under the Christian Marriage Act 1872.

Talking to this correspondent, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) president, Advocate Manzill Murshid said that in some cases we saw that the women who turn down marriage proposals were in danger of suffering violence from spurned men and there have been many cases of men throwing acid at women.

In 1990, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs set up Assistance Cells to help victims of violence but the number of cells is not enough to cope with the demand for help, he added.

He also said that the early marriage is another obstacle in promoting women’s rights. The Majority Act, 1875 clearly provides that a woman must at least be 18 years of age to be able to get married. Fear of poverty, perceptions of family honour and social insecurity are some of the major reasons behind early marriages.

As a result, women’s right to education, a pillar for realising one’s own rights, suffers, he noted.

The authorities concerned of the government should implement the existing laws strictly so that the offender of the offences should get exemplary punishment, he suggested.