Since 1975, March 8 has been celebrated as International Women’s Day, "WOMEN & HIV/AIDS" the theme of International Women's Day this year."

Attacks on individuals by throwing acid are a serious and growing problem in countries like Bangladesh. The overwhelming majority of the victims are young, unmarried women, attacked because of their rejection of marriage or a love affair. Medical facilities available to such victims are often either poor or non-existent. Survivors have considerable difficulty finding work and, if single, little chance of getting married, which is socially isolating.

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.

Acid attacks on women in Bangladesh

1. Within the last half-decade, acid attacks on women in Bangladesh have been growing at an alarming rate. As the Asian Legal Resource Centre has previously noted before the Commission (E/CN.4/2002/NGO/83), the use of acid against women stands out as one of the cruelest and most despicable forms of violence in Asia today.

2. Having ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1984, Bangladesh should promote and protect specified women's rights. According to the CEDAW, women are ensured equality and equal legal protection with men (articles 3 & 2). Parties to the Convention must take courses of action to adjust social and cultural patterns toward the elimination of prejudice and discrimination irrespective of religious or cultural norms that may be raised to condone it (articles 5 & 4). In 1983, Bangladeshi domestic law also made acid throwing a capital offence punishable by seven to twelve year mandatory prison sentences.

3. In spite of the above, the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association and the Bangladeshi Acid Survivor's Foundation estimate that only 10 per cent of attackers are ever brought to trial. Even the exact number of acid attacks against women is difficult to document because many cases go unreported as victims fear reprisals. Although records of documented cases stretch back to 1967, since 1996 the problem has grown multifold. According to the Bangladeshi Acid Survivor's Foundation, 47 cases were reported in 1996, 130 in 1997 and 200 in 1998.

4. The reasons reported for acid throwing attacks include refusal of marriage offers, rejection of male advances, dowry disputes, domestic fights, property disputes, and even a delayed meal. Sulfuric acid, the inexpensive ingredient for making lead acid batteries in motorized vehicles, is the weapon of choice. The physical effects of its use are hideous. It melts away skin and muscle, and can dissolve bones. Many victims have lost sight in one or both eyes. The scarring and disfigurement for all victims is permanent and horrific. Victims are as young as eleven, and are mostly from poor families that cannot possibly afford the extensive surgery needed to repair the damage. Furthermore, in Bangladesh medical care for victims is extremely limited. The Dhaka Medical College Hospital, one of the few public hospitals with a burn unit, has only eight beds for female patients and lacks modern equipment, trained nurses, and even clean sheets.

5. Besides the immense physical pain of acid attacks, the victims also suffer from a lifetime of stigmatization, resulting in loss of self-esteem and an inability to study or work, living in shame, hiding the disfigurement with a veil, and retreating to social isolation. It is unlikely that a burned woman will ever marry, dramatically affecting her life economically and socially, and her own family may also reject her.

6. The lack of prosecution of acid attack perpetrators and social rejection that burn victims face reflect the underlying cause of the violence in the first place: Bangladesh is a male-dominated society where the maltreatment of women is accepted as part of every day life. Many Bangladeshi men see women as property, not autonomous persons entitled to their own opinions, and acid attacks are their barbaric response to women's economic and social progress. According to the UN Population Fund's State of the World Population 2000 report, Bangladesh has the second-worst record in the world for violence against women, with 47 per cent of all women violently assaulted by their male partners. It is clear that the Bangladeshi government is not doing enough to curb widespread gender violence. The rising number of women attacked with acid, the impunity enjoyed by a majority of the assailants, and the lack of medical resources to treat victims all point to a lack of interest in addressing this problem.

7. In light of the above, the Asian Legal Resource Centre urges the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and all other conventional and extra-conventional mechanisms of the Commission to

a. Continue to examine acid attacks on women in Bangladesh through all available avenues.

b. Voice concern over the rising number of acid attacks to the Government of Bangladesh, and request a report on action taken against offenders, as well as details of compensation provided to victims.

c. Demand that current domestic laws on acid attacks in Bangladesh be enforced.

d. Pressure the Government of Bangladesh to provide adequate legal assistance and protection to victims so perpetrators can be prosecuted without the victims being exposed to further attacks.

e. Encourage relevant UN agencies to assist in the provision of adequate medical facilities for the treatment of acid-burn victims, as well as expansion of the currently meagre social and psychological support.

f. Support the Government of Bangladesh to educate the public about this crime and how to eradicate it, through the public media and schools.

g. Impel the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh to take effective action to study and make proposals to the government to permanently eliminate this crime.

h. Remind the Government of Bangladesh of its commitment to the CEDAW that it would eliminate cultural values that discriminate against women, which are at the root of these atrocities.


______________

* This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s).
 

Source: UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-Ninth session
Item 12 (a) of the provisional agenda
E/CN.4/2003/NGO/96
10 March 2003

SDNP
Bangladesh