A request for help
Jul. 16th, 2003 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kribbanI have never done this before but I am doing it now. I would like to ask for your help in a case concerning human rights. The reason why I am asking you this time is because there does not exist an Urgent Action for this case, UAs usually result in thousands of letters being sent, and therefore I am publishing this here in case anyone else wants to e-mail as well. Please don't feel pressured into doing anything, just know that if you want to you can write an email or a letter pleading for Rozina, a sixteen year old girl in a horrible situation. It only takes about twenty minutes of your time. There is no English document about this case so I have translated the most relevant parts from the swedish document.
Bangladesh: Rozina, the 16 year old daughter of a farmer in the Fardipur-district in Bangladesh is married to the man who raped her. Tricked by the elders of the village, threatened by the rapist's family and without possibility to resist, Rozina's family folded under pressure.
The 27th of May, almost fourteen days after Rozina was abducted and raped, her wedding took place in the village Shibrampur, 145 kilometres southwest of Daka, the capital.
In the beginning Rozina's parents fought desperately for justice, they reported the rape to the police but the powerful elders of the village (often landowners) forced them to retract their charges and arranged the wedding with the rapist.
The elders of the village say that concern for the honour and reputation of the community is the basis for such decisions. The last six months, however, a large amount of young women have commited suicide in protest against being married off to their rapists by the elders.
In reality the law does not permit marriage between rapist and victim, says lawyer Abdullah Abu. The arranging of weddings between rapists and victims by the elders in villages are illegal.
Yet, Rozina's situation is not unique. According to rapports in the media there has been over two dozen weddings of this sort in the last two years. This practice is not a new occurrence but has existed for generations.
In many cases the rape is a reaction against the parents of a young girl refusing to give their daughter in marriage to a man of higher social status, often based on his money and influence.
This was recently brought to attention in a case in a village in the Patukali district where the son of a rich farming family asked to marry a girl from the same village. The parents refused and he was furious. A few days later he raped the girl.
Normally he would have been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, which is the standard sentence for rape in Bangladesh. But his victim was forced to marry him.
Human rights groups in Bangladesh have not been able to stop these weddings but they've managed to raise awareness of this problem.
One group who works for the rights of these women is the Bangladesh Women's Council. But despite this, and despite legislation, the reality is different. The conservative Muslim society of Bangladesh tends to blame the rape on the victim's parents, close relatives or neighbours. In the cases where the victims remain living with their parents they are branded and deemed "unmarriable."
The adresses that the woman at Amnesty gave me are as follows:
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia
Office of the Prime Minister
Gona Bhaban
SherÂe Bangla Nagar
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Telegrams:Prime Minister Zia, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fax: + 880 2 811 3244/ 3243/ 1015 / 1490
Email:pm@pmobd.org or psecretary@pmobd.org
Salutation:Dear Prime Minister
Mr Altaf Hossain Chowdhury
Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Building 4
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Telegrams:Minister of Home Affairs Chowdhury, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Salutation: Dear Home Minister
As I said there does not exist a UA on this but I'm keeping in mind how UAs usually look and what they ask you to include:
What you should keep in mind is that you should always be polite and ask for their help. Don't accuse. You can write what you want but a good idea is to ask for Rozina's marriage to be dissolved, ask that she can return to her parents, ask that necessary measures are taken to insure that the rapist is charged, point out that rape is illegal in Bangladesh and that forced marriage between rapist and victim is against human rights, international standards and Bangladesh law. Ask that Rozina is given the help she needs and that her family is given protection and that any threats against them are investigated.
Stress that it is very urgent that Rozina is helped, also say something that this practise is worrying you and ask what they are doing to stop it. You must include all the details, when Rozina was married and where, where she comes from etc so that they can find out who she is. Also sign it with your full name and adress (it's perfectly safe, don't worry.)
Write in your own words, you can be personal or not. Always stress how concerned you are.
If you feel you want to write you are most welcome. If you can pass it along to other people that would be great too. Maybe you know someone who would want to write a letter? If you don't want to write yourself maybe you know someone who would?
Bangladesh: Rozina, the 16 year old daughter of a farmer in the Fardipur-district in Bangladesh is married to the man who raped her. Tricked by the elders of the village, threatened by the rapist's family and without possibility to resist, Rozina's family folded under pressure.
The 27th of May, almost fourteen days after Rozina was abducted and raped, her wedding took place in the village Shibrampur, 145 kilometres southwest of Daka, the capital.
In the beginning Rozina's parents fought desperately for justice, they reported the rape to the police but the powerful elders of the village (often landowners) forced them to retract their charges and arranged the wedding with the rapist.
The elders of the village say that concern for the honour and reputation of the community is the basis for such decisions. The last six months, however, a large amount of young women have commited suicide in protest against being married off to their rapists by the elders.
In reality the law does not permit marriage between rapist and victim, says lawyer Abdullah Abu. The arranging of weddings between rapists and victims by the elders in villages are illegal.
Yet, Rozina's situation is not unique. According to rapports in the media there has been over two dozen weddings of this sort in the last two years. This practice is not a new occurrence but has existed for generations.
In many cases the rape is a reaction against the parents of a young girl refusing to give their daughter in marriage to a man of higher social status, often based on his money and influence.
This was recently brought to attention in a case in a village in the Patukali district where the son of a rich farming family asked to marry a girl from the same village. The parents refused and he was furious. A few days later he raped the girl.
Normally he would have been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, which is the standard sentence for rape in Bangladesh. But his victim was forced to marry him.
Human rights groups in Bangladesh have not been able to stop these weddings but they've managed to raise awareness of this problem.
One group who works for the rights of these women is the Bangladesh Women's Council. But despite this, and despite legislation, the reality is different. The conservative Muslim society of Bangladesh tends to blame the rape on the victim's parents, close relatives or neighbours. In the cases where the victims remain living with their parents they are branded and deemed "unmarriable."
The adresses that the woman at Amnesty gave me are as follows:
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia
Office of the Prime Minister
Gona Bhaban
SherÂe Bangla Nagar
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Telegrams:Prime Minister Zia, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fax: + 880 2 811 3244/ 3243/ 1015 / 1490
Email:pm@pmobd.org or psecretary@pmobd.org
Salutation:Dear Prime Minister
Mr Altaf Hossain Chowdhury
Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Building 4
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Telegrams:Minister of Home Affairs Chowdhury, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Salutation: Dear Home Minister
As I said there does not exist a UA on this but I'm keeping in mind how UAs usually look and what they ask you to include:
What you should keep in mind is that you should always be polite and ask for their help. Don't accuse. You can write what you want but a good idea is to ask for Rozina's marriage to be dissolved, ask that she can return to her parents, ask that necessary measures are taken to insure that the rapist is charged, point out that rape is illegal in Bangladesh and that forced marriage between rapist and victim is against human rights, international standards and Bangladesh law. Ask that Rozina is given the help she needs and that her family is given protection and that any threats against them are investigated.
Stress that it is very urgent that Rozina is helped, also say something that this practise is worrying you and ask what they are doing to stop it. You must include all the details, when Rozina was married and where, where she comes from etc so that they can find out who she is. Also sign it with your full name and adress (it's perfectly safe, don't worry.)
Write in your own words, you can be personal or not. Always stress how concerned you are.
If you feel you want to write you are most welcome. If you can pass it along to other people that would be great too. Maybe you know someone who would want to write a letter? If you don't want to write yourself maybe you know someone who would?
