UNCEDAW and Women in BangladeshJhuma Halder, 2009

Today is International UNCEDAW Day. Each year all the United Nations signatory counties celebrate this day in a befitting manner. Simultaneously, many progrmmne has been launched this day in Bangladesh by GO’s and NGO’s. Specially, CEDAW is the bill of rights for women which demands for international and national mechanism through which women can claim and address their rights. In this context, the significance of CEDAW is the principal legal instrument addressing women’s rights and equality, and discrimination against women that prohibits any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. However, its uniqueness lies in its mandate for the achievements of substantive equality for women requiring not only formal legal equality but also equality of results in real terms. In Bangladesh, women’s development approach and empowerment issues are not equal. The application of national laws does not permit to go forward all women due to religious discrimination. By identifying that discrimination is socially constructed and those laws, policies and practices can unintentionally have the “effect” of discrimination against women. Equally needs equal opportunity.

Similar to 187 countries, Bangladesh government had signed in UNCEDAW on 6 December 1984 with some reservations. Nevertheless, as a people’s republic of Bangladesh, our Government how much advancement did for women community at their family, society, culture level to minimize discrimination among the all religion! Religion is expected to keep human society united. We the religious minorities are not getting equal opportunity to claim our rights equally where as the majority women can claim. On the other hand, gradually increasing minority women repression addresses the necessary actions to improve this situation. While CEDAW sets the place for a dynamic proactive approach to women’s advancement, it intrinsically embedded values of social norms and cultural practices. At the same time, socio-religious aspects create various barriers to be unequal proportion of opportunity at national level. It is undoubtedly acknowledged, the present Government is very sensitize to be equal for all community, but practically we do not perceive it at all the religious community specially Hindus. Nonetheless, unequal Hindu Law determines discrimination between the majority and minority women. If the law national laws do not allow equality women to women, how international norms or legal system protect the Bangladeshi all women!

For this reason, we urge to revise orthodox Hindu Law for protecting religious minority women on this day to implement women’s human rights equally at national level as well as international level and withdrawn the reservation from CEDAW.