Bangladesh has become one of the top ranking countries in violence against women (VAW) by intimate partner. Fifty per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 of the country have experienced physical or sexual violence by their partners during their lifetime, according to a report of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The report was prepared after analyzing the data on violence against women in 61 countries and areas between the years 2000 and 2018. According to WHO, one in three women worldwide is subjected to physical or sexual violence during her lifetime.
The Pacific Ocean country Kiribati has the highest prevalence of physical and sexual intimate partner violence. Fifty-three per cent of the women in this poor country become victim of this form of violence. Kiribati is followed by another two island countries of the Pacific Ocean – Fiji (52 per cent) and Papua New Genue Papua New Guinea (51 per cent). The prevalence for Bangladesh and Solomon Islands stands at 50 per cent.
People's mindset contributes to the higher rate of violence against women in Bangladesh, said Tania Haque, a professor of Women and Gender Studies at Dhaka University. She told Prothom Alo that women feel insecure without a male partner because of the dominance of patriarchy in the country. As a result, a man starts thinking himself superior than a woman even though he holds a socially weaker position than women. The mindset of being superior instigates a man to carry out various wrongdoings.
Professor Tania Haque thinks that the first change must come from the family to overcome this crisis. She said if social and family equality and equal rights is ensured, only then women empowerment will happen and violence against women will decrease.
In the meantime, UNICEF expressed concern over growing child marriage that hinders women empowerment in Bangladesh. The UN children agency, in a statement on Monday, said Bangladesh ranks fourth in the prevalence of child marriage globally. Covid-19 pandemic has increasingly pushing girls into the risk of child marriage.
Another South Asian country Afghanistan has come at the sixth place in violence against women by intimate partner. The WHO released the report on behalf of others UN agencies on 9 March. The report further said the prevalence of violence against women has made no progress from the estimates published by the WHO in 2013. Women also become victim of non-partner physical and sexual violence. They began facing violence since an early age.
The report said 12 countries and 2 areas have the lowest prevalence (10–14 per cent) of intimate or non-intimate partner violence among women aged 15–49 years. Six of the 12 countries are in Europe, three are in Western Asia and the remaining three are Cuba (14 per cent), the Philippines (14 per cent) and Singapore (11 per cent).
State of VAW in Bangladesh during Covid-19
The report also revealed the prevalence of physical or sexual violence against women by intimate or non-intimate partner for the last 12 months amidst coronavirus pandemic. Bangladesh has ranked sixteenth in the list. With 36 percent women facing violence, African country Democratic Republic of Congo has topped the list, followed by Afghanistan (35 per cent) and Papua New Guinea (31 per cent).
Regarding violence against women amidst coronavirus pandemic, project director of the women and children affairs ministry’s multi-sectoral programme on violence against women, Abul Hossain, told Prothom Alo outings has declined during coronavirus pandemic. Incidents of men turning violent have taken place due to various tensions for extended periods of staying at home. They get violent and abuse their wives and children, he added.
Abul Hossain, however, did not totally agree with the WHO report. He said. “And organisation like WHO measures the indicator of violence on international standards. They consider scolding wife and children as violence, which is not applicable to our social structure.”
Thirty countries and one area, 24 of which are high-income, have the lowest prevalence of violence against women (up to 4 per cent) during the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty-three of the 30 are in Europe. The remaining 8 are: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Uruguay, (all 4 per cent) and Canada and Hong Kong (both 3 per cent).
The report said only 6 per cent women bring allegations on experiencing violence. The major remain silent to avoid humiliation. So, the actual number of the incident of violence is thought to be higher.
Regarding this, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Violence against women is endemic in every country and culture, causing harm to millions of women and their families, and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“But unlike Covid-19, violence against women cannot be stopped with a vaccine. We can only fight it with deep-rooted and sustained efforts – by governments, communities and individuals – to change harmful attitudes, improve access to opportunities and services for women and girls, and foster healthy and mutually respectful relationships,” he added.