Realising women’s rights

Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi believes that balancing cultural norms with women’s rights is “one of the most significant challenges” currently facing some women.

“Culture is often thought of as static, but when it comes to gender issues I want people to realise that it is actually constantly evolving,” said Ms Siddiqi, a member of Naripokkho, a women’s rights organisation based in Bangladesh.

Ms Siddiqi was one of over 40 participants who attended a meeting in Bangladesh organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the country’s Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs.

Participants from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka were present at the colloquium on ‘Gender, Culture and the Law’ which took place between 30 and 31 October 2007.

Issues addressed included women and marriage, property rights, law and customs, and violence against women. The meeting was a starting point to develop policy and projects focused on women’s rights and the law.

Dr Meena Shivdas, Gender Adviser at the Secretariat, believes that “despite laws against harmful customary practices such as female infanticide, honour killings and dowry deaths, women continue to be scarred, maimed and killed under the guise of culture. Women’s rights to land, property and housing are also severely curtailed.”

Professor Uma Chakravarti, a gender expert who attended the meeting, argued that laws must be put in place, despite differing cultural values, to ensure the protection and enhancement of women’s rights.

“We must create the conditions or laws that will enhance women’s rights” she said.

Although both Ms Siddiqi and Professor Chakravarti acknowledge that introducing laws is a positive step, they also believe that cultural perceptions have to be tackled if equal rights for women are to be achieved.

Ms Siddiqi applauded efforts of groups like Doorbar, a network of small women’s organisations in Bangladesh that lobby the government for equal women’s rights. They have successfully prompted police to establish an investigative cell that deals primarily with violence against women.

These small organisations have also conducted workshops with men, hoping to change their attitudes towards their wives, and with women, helping them to understand that any abuse must not be tolerated.

At the meeting, participants highlighted positive work such as this as examples of the current efforts which are working towards improving the rights of women. These examples will be taken into consideration by the Secretariat when formulating new projects that specifically focus on this area of women’s rights.

Key Links:

• Gender
• Country Profile: Bangladesh