Domestic Violence on Women in Bangladesh: A Study of Two Villages in Jhenaidah District

Abstract

The present research was carried out to study the scenario of domestic violence on women in Bangladesh in general and to explore the socio-economic and cultural factors responsible for domestic violence on women in two villages in particular. Using social survey method, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Case Study and Key Informant Interview (KII) methods and a structured questionnaire, intensive field work were administered to collect the required data for the research. Secondary sources were also used to furnish pertinent information about the problem. Two villages were selected as the locale of the study. The major findings of the study are to be summarized in the following lines. Verbal abuse and physical hurt or battering are some very common forms of domestic violence. Female in the family atmosphere often become victim of verbal abuse. To most of the women verbal abuse is a daily matter and husbands use demeaning words as verbal abuse to keep their wife under control. Similarly, battering or physical hurt is also a very common form of domestic violence that a women have to face in conjugal life or in family atmosphere. There are some other forms of domestic violence on women also like throwing or breaking of household assets to show anger upon women, threatening with weapon, depriving the women from household assets, preventing them from doing household works, threatening about divorcing, insulting inside and outside the home, preventing them from visiting parent's house, etc. Different social, cultural, economic, legal and religious factors are responsible for domestic violence on women. The following socio cultural and psychological issues have been identified by the respondents responsible for domestic violence on women. Those are: defying parents or older; showing ignorance towards 'murubbi'(elderly people); arguing with male; making quarrel with neighbors; keeping relation with other male; continuation of relationship with other male in spite of giving warning; not taking care of ill husband; disobeying order of male; failure to prepare and delivery of meal/ food timely; not washing husband's dress/cloth; refusal of doing sex according to husband's will; bad performance in household work; inquiring husband's relationship with other female; suspecting parents or husband in any issue; becoming faithless; not maintaining 'Parda' or wearing 'Burkha' (parda and burkah both mean veiling the body of women); unable to cook food according to the choice of husband; inability to give birth of a male child ( due to the ignorance of the knowledge that only the male or the father is responsible in doing so); for showing male power and authority over female; inability to provide dowry according to the demand; underestimating women power; visiting or living of wife's relative in husband's house; lack of education and intelligence of women; dark complexion of wife; want of love or affection from wife, etc. The economic reasons are: poverty; expensing money without permission of husband; economical dependencies ( due to not earning money); inheriting of less property; less participation in employment, etc. Weak legal system; lack of knowledge about law; reluctant attitude of law enforcing force, etc are the legal reasons responsible for domestic violence on women. There are also some women empowerment related issues that also prompt domestic violence on women. Those are: less participation of women in development activities; giving less importance by family; personal or family matter; ignorance of men (about women development issues), etc. Knowledge and attitude of the respondents about domestic violence and the reasons for acceptance of domestic violence were revealed in the present research. It has been found that both male and female respondents in the present study believed that domestic violence is a private matter, and should be resolved within the household. In the present research majority of the male respondents justified torturing women in the following circumstances as: not abiding by the guardians; for showing male's power and authority; childhood experience; ignorance of community people, religious view, etc. A minor portion of the female respondents have agreed upon the mentioned statements. So, it has been found that knowledge of male respondents differ from female respondents about domestic violence on women. Attitude of male towards domestic violence was revealed as: debility to do household works according to husband's choice; defying husband, showing disregard or ignorance of guardians; not following husband in spite of giving repeated warning; not doing and/ or refusing sex according to the choice of husband; husband's having relationship with other female; doubting on any issue; becoming unfaithful to husband; incapability of parents to give demanded dowry; not getting meal timely, etc. On the other hand majority of the female respondents did not think like male respondents on this issue. Majority of both male and female respondents have mentioned that women accept domestic violence on them. The underlying reason behind such situation is because of the traditional as well as typical patriarchal concepts about women in the Bangladeshi societies which have been reflected through their responses. The responses like: because men feed women by their earning; men have right to torture female; thought of the future of family and children; absence or lack of shelters for the women to go in their needs; fear of social exclusion by the community people; existing religio-traditional myth about having the heaven under the foot of husband; not getting support from parents; not having own property or asset; not having own income source; traditional social custom about women's being adopted in father-in-law's house, etc. It has been found that a very few victims of domestic violence seek help and received services from both informal and formal sources. But a major portion of them did not tell or receive services from any of the sources. Informal sources are those where the victims usually can go and tell their miseries and sufferings. The sources are parents, brothers and sisters, neighboring people, father-in-law, mother-in-law, uncle, aunt friends etc. The formal sources are doctors, health workers, hospitals, UP chairman and members, village or local leaders, thana, police, court, NGOs, women organization, village family court including the traditional kabiraj and fakirs etc. The reasons behind not taking any support or services by the domestic violence victims from any formal or informal sources are manifold. Thinking the welfare of the family and children, facing the criticisms of community people, fearing the increased degree of torture, not having own property or money, unavailability of service providing agencies, lack of quality of services of the agencies, fear of harassment, lack of knowledge, fear of divorce, fear of stigma, etc. are some of the reasons behind such situation. Women who become victims of domestic violence faced different type of physical and psychological problems like: wounds and injuries on the body, frustration, trauma of frightening situation, tension, losing control over self, losing of interest in sexual intercourse, losing interest in taking meal, showing havoc based behavior, etc. Children, who witnessed domestic violence, have several impacts. Physical impacts showed up as: weight loss, sleeping problems, unwillingness to eat, fever, mal nutrition, etc. In the present research attempts have been taken to measure some social and psychological costs of the victims of domestic violence. In terms of medical treatment, the cost has been found that the victims of domestic violence who seek treatment from hospital or doctor have to spend money in different purpose; such as: doctor fee, medicine cost, outdoor fee, etc. In terms of social and psychological cost; it has been revealed that victims of domestic violence feel humiliation to other family members, fall in disgrace situation to the community people, lose their social acceptance, rate of participation in social, cultural and religious function get reduced, and face disgraceful situation before children, etc. The other indirect costs of domestic violence are: wastage of working hours, lose of working energy, late attendance in the work place, lose of interest in getting education of their children, lose of confidence; and downfall of victim's livelihood status due to domestic violence. No such government activities were found in the villages so far intervention is concerned. However, some NGO activities in the form of advocacy, news conference, publishing newspaper/letters, organizing community people, organizing seminar conferences, workshops, etc. were found in the villages to deter domestic violence on women. Both print and electronic media have had positive impact in such deterrence attempts till present day.