The Chittagong University Journal of Law

Vol. XVIII, 2013 (p. 105 -129)

Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh:

A Critical Overview

Asma Begum

Shiplu Kumar Dey

Abstract
Violence against women is a common occurrence in most societies
whether the violence is physical or mental. In South Asia it is a daily and
often deadly fact of life for millions of women and girls. Women and girls
are generally looked down upon, trapped within cultural framework,
molded by rigid perceptions of patriarchy. As a result violence against
women is viewed as a normal phenomenon even from the women’s
perspective. South Asian women suffer multiple forms of violence
including domestic violence, rape, dowry deaths, sexual harassment,
suicide, forced marriage, trafficking and other psychological and
financial oppression. Violence against women has become one of the
most visible social issues in this region.
As a South Asian country, Bangladesh is not different from its
neighbors. Violence against women is amongst the most serious threats
to overall development and progress in Bangladesh. Widespread
violence and repression in numerous forms puts women’s lives at risk in
almost all parts of the country. Thus a woman commonly has risk of
experiencing domestic violence within her family and it is not very
surprising that the husband is more likely to assault and/or batter his
wife if she fails to meet his dowry demands or to perform household
work. Given the scale of the human rights violation against women this
article concentrates on the socio-legal concerns of domestic violence
problem in Bangladesh and then finds out the domestic violence
prevention mechanisms through national law and international human
rights obligations of the state.


Asma Begum is a Lecturer, Department of Law, BGC Trust University Bangladesh
 
Shiplu Kumar Dey is a Lecturer, Department of Law, BGC Trust University Bangladesh
 The Chittagong University Journal of Law

1. Introduction
Although a unique position in the society is occupied by women due to
the importance in the procreation of the human race, it is a historical truth
that in different ages women were deprived of their privileges due to rigid
perceptions of patriarchy and traditional patterns of life. In Bangladesh,
the patriarchal capitalism puts women in such a position within their
communities that always remain subordinate under male domination.
Materialization of a historic unequal power relation between sexes is a
form of discrimination and mistreatment of women which denies
women’s equal opportunity, security, self-esteem and dignity in the family
1
and in the society as a whole. Thus, women suffer this discrimination in
silence at all stages of her life. As a result, in many cases this is reflected
through violence. In Bangladesh, women suffer multiple forms of
violence among which domestic violence is widely prevalent both in
urban and rural areas as an everyday matter of women’s lives. Pertinent
to mention that Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world
and its estimated prevalence rate of domestic violence against women
(DVAW) is extremely high, which, in turn, is an obstacle to the
achievement of equality, development and peace.2 Due to domestic
violence, the home of a woman which ought to have been a happy and
heavenly home with full of joy, love and affection turned into a hell. This
3
trend is not good for the healthy progress of the nation.
Despite the enactment of plethora of laws and recognition of international
laws as to women’s human rights in Bangladesh, the status of women
has not yet improved. So, domestic violence against women is still a
continuing issue that requires continuous redressing to guarantee
women’s full enjoyment of their rights and to promote equal status for
women and to ensure development of the country.
In this context, at first our aim in this article is to define domestic violence
along with various forms of domestic violence. Secondly it is our attempt
to disclose scenario of domestic violence in Bangladesh. Then, we try to
find out the reasons behind domestic violence and focus on the

1
M. T. Khatun, K. F. Rahman, ‘Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: Analysis
from a Socio-legal Perspective’, Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology, Volume 9, Number 2,
2012, p. 19.
2
Johnson, H., Ollus, N., and Nevala, S., Violence against Women – An International
Perspective, New York: Springer, 2008, p.16
3
Kishwar Madhu, Law relating to domestic Violence, M/S Asia Law House, 2004, p.5

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

consequences of domestic violence in Bangladesh. Next we point out

protection against domestic violence under national and international
law, present problems in reducing domestic violence in Bangladesh and
suggest some recommendations to get over these problems and thereby
to reduce and stop the alarming rate of domestic violence against
women existed in Bangladesh.

2. Domestic Violence: What does it mean?

Domestic violence means one kind of abusive behaviour that occurs
within the family. Domestic violence is commonly used as a form of
control, the assertion of one member over the others.
Domestic violence is defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as a
pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one
partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate
4
partner.
The UN gives the most comprehensive definition of family violence.
Accordingly violence in the family manifests itself as physical
mistreatment, often repetitive which is interrelated to the exercise of
5
mental torture, neglect of basic needs and molestation. Domestic
violence is defined as a pattern of behavior in a relationship by which the
batter attempts to control his victim through a variety of tactics. These
tactics may include fear and intimidation, economic abuse and rigid
expectations of sex roles.6

The United States of America’s Law on Family Violence and prevention

7
of Services Act defines family violence as-
“any act or threatened act of violence, including any fearful detention of
an individual which a) results or threatens to result in physical injury and
b) is committed by a person against another individual to whom such
person is related by blood or marriage or otherwise legally related or with
8
whom such person is lawfully residing”.

4
U.S. Dept of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, [Link]
[Link] (last visited December 7, 2011)
5
See “within the four walls- A profile of domestic Violence”; Multiple Action Research
Group, 1998.
6
Johnson, Margaret E. Redefining Harm, Reimaging Remedies and Reclaiming Domestic
Violence Law’, University of Baltimore School of Law, Baltimore, 2008.
7
See Section 309 of the Family Violence and Prevention of Services Act
8
See the U.S. Federal Law-“ Family Violence prevention of Services Act”

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 The Chittagong University Journal of Law

In Bangladesh we find a comprehensive definition of domestic violence

in the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2010 as:
…any physical and mental torture, sexual harassment and psychological
harassment of a woman or a child by any member of the family. Any
action that causes or likely to cause damage to the life, health, security
or any organ of the body of a woman or child.”9

3. Forms of Domestic Violence in Bangladesh

Domestic violence may take place in various ways. According to UNICEF
Report (2008), domestic violence includes different forms of abuse and
exploitation perpetrated by intimate partners and other family members:
3.1. Physical abuse: It means use of physical force against a person
that harms or restricts the person and includes acts of assault, battery,
10
coercion, wrongful restraint or confinement. Such as slapping, beating,
arm twisting, stabbing, strangling, burning, choking, kicking, threats with
an object or weapon, and murder.
3.2. Sexual abuse: It means any conduct of sexual nature that abuses,
humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of the person
11
aggrieved. Such as coerced sex through intimidation or physical force,
forcing unwanted sexual acts or forcing sex with others.
3.3. Psychological abuse: It means degrading or humiliating conduct
that adversely affects or is likely to affect the psychological or mental
12
state of the person aggrieved. It includes behaviour that is intended to
intimidate and persecute, and takes the form of threats of abandonment
or abuse, confinement to the home, surveillance, threats to take away
custody of the children, destruction of objects, isolation, verbal
aggression and constant humiliation. It includes intimidation and
humiliation where the victim is made to feel bad about oneself and is
subjected to excessive controlling, curtailing and/or disruption of routine
activities such as sleeping or eating habits, social relationship, access to
13
money; verbal insults and so on.

9
See section 3 of The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010
10
Supra note 3,p.22
11
Supra note 3,p.22
12
Supra note 3, p.22
13
Report of the sub-regional expert group meeting on eliminating violence against women:
Violence against women in South
Asia. Report No.: ST/ESCAP/2099. New York: United Nations; 2000.

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

14
3.4. Economic abuse: It means- (a) deprivation of all or any economic
or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any
law or custom whether payable under an order of a court or otherwise or
which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not
limited to, household necessities for the aggrieved person and her
children, if any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the
aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared household and
maintenance;
(b) disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether
movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like
or other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or is
entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship or which may be
reasonably required by the aggrieved person or her children or her
stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved
person; and
(c) prohibition or restriction to continued access to resources or facilities
which the aggrieved person is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the
domestic relationship including access to the shared household. It
includes acts such as the denial of funds, refusal to contribute financially,
denial of food and basic needs, and controlling access to health care,
15
employment, etc.”
The above forms of domestic violence are also covered by section 3 of
the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010.
However, in a recent study of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, it has been
observed that mainly four types of domestic violence, i.e. physical,
psychological, economic and sexual abuse that are prevalent throughout
Bangladesh. Most of the victims (93%) reported in the study that they
had experienced physical violence; only 13 per cent reported of having
experience of sexual violence, 91per cent victims reported economic
violence and 84 per cent reported psychological violence committed by
their husbands.16

14
See section 3 of The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 of India.
15
Supra note 2
16
Centre for Policy Dialogue: Domestic Violence In Bangladesh: Cost Estimates and
Measures to Address the Attendant Problems, Report no 97, available at
[Link] attach/[Link], last accessed in February 2, 2012.

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4. Scenario of Domestic Violence in Bangladesh

Domestic Violence against women is widespread and common in
Bangladesh. Several studies have indicated that domestic violence
against women, especially violence perpetrated by a woman’s husband,
17
is a serious problem in Bangladesh. For instance, the 2010 USDOS
report cites a study indicating that at least 50 per cent of Bangladeshi
18
women experience domestic violence at least once in their lives.
According to recent research by International Center for Diarrhoeal
19
Disease Research-Bangladesh (2006) , “60 per cent of women in
Bangladesh experience some form of domestic violence during their
lives. One Stop Crisis Centre, a Bangladesh based NGO that supports
women victims of violence, reveals that almost 70 percent of sexual
abuse suffered by women occurs within their own homes. Although
domestic violence includes child abuse, parent abuse and in-law abuse
committed by male aggressors on female victims, available information
from research indicated that the “most common type of violence in
Bangladesh against women is domestic violence perpetrated by intimate
20
partners or ex partners”.
Amnesty International reports that a significant portion of domestic
violence against women is related to disputes over dowries, though
spousal infidelity and rejection of marriage proposals are also reasons
cited in the report. Odhikar, a human rights coalition group in
Bangladesh, reported that at the first nine month of 2003, in Bangladesh
278 women were victims of dowry related violence among those 184
were killed, 20 committed suicide, 67 were physically tortured, 11

17
Bhuyia, A., T. Sharmin, S.M.A. Hanifi, Nature of Domestic Violence against Women in a
Rural Area of Bangladesh: Implication for Preventive Interventions, J Health Popul Nutr,
21(1): 48-54, ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and
Population Research, 2003.
18
US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 –
Bangladesh, 11 March – Attachment 2; ‘Human Rights Report 2008: Odhikar report of
Bangladesh’, 2009, Odhikar website,
[Link] –
Accessed 20 December 2012.
19
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research-Bangladesh, 2006 : Domestic
Violence against Women in Bangladesh, Accessed 12 December 2012 available at
[Link]
20
L. Heise, H. Pitanguy, A. Germain, Violence against Women: The Hidden Health
Burden, World Bank Discussion
Papers No. 255, Washington DC: The World bank, 1994.

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

21
sustained injuries from acid attacks and 2 were divorced . A 2004 study
of socioeconomic factors’ impact on domestic violence against rural
Bangladeshi women has found, however, that married women in
households of lower socio-economic status are at a significantly higher
22
risk of being victims of domestic violence.
In Bangladesh, though the magnitude of some of the DVAW is highly
alarming, till now there is no organized information on the extent, nature
and context of DV. Women experiencing DV or living with its
consequences are under-reported because in most cases violence is
considered as personal or family matter. Moreover, the way of treating
women socially is not gender-sensitive, and sometimes the fears of
increasing sufferings or vulnerability by the victim reduce the number of
violence to be reported. A significant number of DV in Bangladesh is
under-reported due to social stigma; women are accused of provoking
the violence by their disobedience, failure as a wife, or infidelity; in fact,
they have to consider the tradeoffs between sufferings of violence and
losing reputation in the society which contributes to the fewer reporting of
the DV in Bangladesh. Though, women report about DV only when it
becomes a serious problem or threats to life. Women’s rights groups,
however, state that the number of women experiencing such violence is
23
actually much higher as many incidents go unreported.
The patriarchal nature of Bangladesh society has meant that women
become victims of violence from not only their husbands, but also their
husbands’ families. Women are dependent on men throughout their
24
lives, from their fathers, through to husbands, brothers and sons. When
women marry, their husbands often create a separate household for their
new nuclear family, but the husband remains under the control of his
25
father and the wife under the control of her mother-in-law. This results
in the reduction of mobility and autonomy for the wife, who can also find

21
Ibid
22
L. Bates, M. Schuler, S. R., Islam, Islam M. K., ‘Socioeconomic Factors and Processes
Associated With Domestic Violence in Rural Bangladesh’, International Family Planning
Perspectives, vol. 30, no. 4, 2004.
23
Amnesty International Annual Report, London, 2010.
24
Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Bangladesh (OECD), Social Institutions &
Gender Index, available at [Link] - Accessed 22
December 2011.
25
Bangladesh Cultural Overview, [Link], [Link] –
Accessed 22 December 2011.

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26
herself the victim of domestic violence perpetrated by her in-laws. In
this case, it is unlikely that marriage would reduce discrimination or
violence against a woman in Bangladesh, and may in fact increase it in
some circumstances.
Wife beating is the most commonly occurring act of domestic violence in
Bangladesh. Sixty-five percent of Bangladeshi men perceived wife
beating as justified (stated in Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada,
27
2004). An international report published by the United Nations in
September of 2000 ranked the country first in wife beating and found that
nearly half of the adult female population surveyed reported physical
abuse by their husbands. This fact may be startling to the international
community, however, in Bangladesh it is common knowledge that
husbands exert their authority and physically assault wives for even
minor mistakes, such as an unsatisfactory meal, an untidy room, a
conversation with another man, or any act of disagreement or
28
disobedience.
5. Reasons behind Domestic Violence
There are a lot of reasons which are liable for the existence of domestic
violence against women in Bangladesh. These factors are as follows:
• The reasons for verbal and physical abuse are trivial and include
questioning of the husband, failure to perform household work
and care of children, economic problems, stealing, refusal to
bring dowry, the age of women, age of husband, past exposure
to familial violence, and lack of spousal communication, as well
as nonpayment or partial payment of dowry. In this regard,
Bhuiya reported that the most frequently mentioned reasons for
verbal abuse included wife’s questioning of the husband on day
to day affairs (29.1%) followed by failure of the wife to perform
household work satisfactorily (17.6%), economic hardship of the
family (11.5%), failure of the wife to take proper care of the
children (10%), not wearing the veil or conforming to other

26
Balk, D. ‘Change Comes Slowly for Women in Rural Bangladesh’, Asia-Pacific
Population & Policy, 1997, No. 41 – Attachment 23; UK Home Office 2010, Country of
Origin Information Report: Bangladesh, 20 August.
27
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada : Bangladesh: Violence against Women,
Especially Domestic Violence;State Protection and Resources Available to Survivors of
Abuse, available at [Link] Accessed 12
December 2012.
28
Supra note 17

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

expected behaviour (5.5%), inability to bring money from the

natal home (3%), not taking good care of in-laws and relatives
29
(2%) as well as stealing (3.4%).
• Family quarrel is the reason given by most of the women as the
30
cause of violence. Jahan reported that Family quarrel was
referred to as a value term that included many specific reasons
such as husband’s dissatisfaction over wife’s management of
expenses, house keeping and child care, jealousy and
suspicious nature, exaggerated sense of superiority over a wife
as reflected in household decision making, sexual
maladjustment, stress resulting from prolonged illness in the
family, sudden financial loss, loss of job and aggravation by in-
laws.
• Women being younger than the husband had a negative effect
on violence for women. Thus, as young wives their status is quite
31
low.
• Husband’s occupation on Women’s ownership of land is
significant predictor of abuse.
•
32
The WHO multi-country study reported, from the data collected
by ICDDR, B-Naripokkho survey, that 53.3 per cent in the urban
and 79.3 per cent of women in the rural area believed that a man
had a right to beat his wife under certain circumstances e.g. not
completing housework adequately, refusing sex, disobeying the
husband, or being unfaithful.
• The underreporting of violence is of serious concern and the
major reasons for silence in abusive relationships are (i) the
universal acceptance of gender inequality reinforced by social
and religious beliefs in favour of male dominance; (ii) the deep
seated reverence for family as an institution for continuing the
existing social order and values related to regulating sexual
behaviour, particularly female sexuality within the bounds of
marriage; (iii) the prevalent bias amongst the middle class, who
29
Ibid p 48-54.
30
Jahan R., Hidden danger: women and family violence in Bangladesh, Dhaka: Women for
Women; 1994 p. 165.
31
Tania Wahed & Abbas Bhuiya, Battered bodies & shattered minds: Violence against
women in Bangladesh, Indian J Med Res 126, October 2007, p. 345.
32
WHO Multi-country Study on women’s health and domestic violence against women:
Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses. Geneva,
Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2005.

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form the bulk of lawmakers, law enforcers, social norm setters

and opinion makers, in regarding domestic violence as
inconsequential; and (iv) the fear of social censure and loss of
33
face.
• The nature of family relationship forces women to struggle alone
against violence where society encourages the husband to
exercise his right to dominate and control the wife.34 In general,
women are socialized to accept physical and mental abuses as
part of a husband’s marital prerogatives, as normal practice and
not as a punishable crime. Underlying the acceptance of
violence against women is the deep-rooted social belief that
women are fundamentally of less value than men. Violence
against women is typically enmeshed in a complex web of
institutionalized social relations that make women particularly
35
vulnerable to it.
• Violence against women is rooted in the patriarchal ideology,
which to a large extent is responsible for the internalization of
female inferiority through a process of socialization, customs,
religious laws and rituals. The legitimization and promotion of
rigid gender roles, masculinity, toughness and male honour
36
within the society perpetuates gender violence. The social
forces that perpetuate gender based violence can be viewed
from various approaches viz., cultural values that tend to
rationalize violence, legal systems that are not sensitive to the
rights of women, economic systems that subordinate women and
37
political systems that marginalize women’s need. These social
values make it extremely difficult for women to assert themselves
and speak out against domestic violence.
• The shame associated with domestic violence may contribute to
the fact that women are afraid of repercussions and stigma and
consequently never tell anyone and often suffer the abuse in
silence. From the population based cross-sectional survey data

33
Supra note 13.
34
Dobash RE, Dobash R. Women, Violence and Social Change, London: Routledge; 1992.
35
Schuler S, Hashemi S, Riley P, Akhter S., Credit programs patriarchy and men’s violence
against women in rural Bangladesh, Soc Sci Med 1996; 43 : 1729-42.
36
Counts D, Brown J, Campbell J., Sanctions and sanctuary: cultural perspectives on the
beating of wives. Boulder: CO: Westview Press; 1992.
37
Heise L, Raikes A, Watts CH, Zwi A., Violence against women: a neglected public health
issue in less developed countries,Soc Sci Med 1994; vol 39 : 1165-79.

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

38
of ICDDR-B- Naripokkho, Naved et al reported that most of the
abused women (66%) were silent about their experience. In
addition, 75 per cent of the moderately abused women in the
urban area and 86 percent of them in the rural area never talked
about their experience to anybody due to the fear of tarnishing
family honour, stigma of ruining the woman’s own reputation,
securing the children’s future, fear of repercussion from the
husband, hopelessness, expectation that things would change,
threat of murder, and belief that violence was the husband’s
prerogative, being blamed for the violence.
• Women with lowered self-esteem, severe depressive symptoms
with minimal personal resources and least institutional support
39
are more vulnerable to be abused by her spouse.
• The husband’s frustration with his sphere of social and economic
life is also a separate dimension in the reasons for violence.
Issues, such as dark complexion of children, too many or no
children are also attributed to the woman’s failure to fulfill the
husband’s expectations, and at times, triggered violence against
40
women.
• The other reason reflects the overall economic and social
dependence of women on men, and the concern for children is
also somewhat related to the economic and social
41
dependence. Lack of economic independence and
independent income forces many women to stay in violent
relationships.
• Although many laws are in place to protect women, enforcement
of these laws is lax and ineffective without proper law
enforcement and court procedures having several structural and
procedural barriers.
• Women are not socialized to protect themselves and despite an
active feminist movement

38
Heise L, Ellsberg M, Gottemeller M., Ending violence against women in Latin American
and Caribbean Region. A critical review of interventions, Latin America and the Caribbean
Region: The World Bank, Poverty Sector Unit; 1999 October
2004.
39
Ibid
40
Supra note 17
41
Supra note 37 p 1175

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in the country they are not physically trained to protect

themselves.42
• Lack of education makes women more vulnerable. Education
does have a role on women's power and autonomy. The most
educated women have more equal power relationships with their
husbands, are less dependent upon husband's approval for self-
esteem and discuss family matters openly with their spouse.
• Lack of resource especially food in poor rural households and
women’s failure to efficiently accomplish their traditional gender
43
roles lead to gender violence. For instance, a mother was
beaten by her son when his food ran short at mealtime; wives
were beaten by husbands because there was too much or too
little salt in the food; a young orphaned girl was beaten by her
uncle when she asked for her share of fruits from family owned
trees.
• Child marriage is another factor for domestic violence. That’s
why, a girl child is deemed as a burden to poor parents. So, this
practice continues to be widespread despite the existence of the
Child Marriage Restraint Act since 1983. Women activists
believe that early marriage of girls, usually between the ages of
12-19 years, along with a wide age gap between spouses results
in unequal relationship and invites marital disharmony. Lack of
knowledge about sexual health often aggravates the situation of
violence against women within spousal relationships also.
• Religious Conservatism is a reason associated with domestic
violence. While fanatic religious leader misinterpret and misuse
religious principles, the community does not dare protest against
such misuse of religion due to ignorance about religious
principles, illiteracy. The traditional cultural practices of divorce
still prevail in spite of changes in the legal procedures. Lack of
information on the legal procedures regarding divorce leads to
many women ending up homeless and abandoned by their
44
husbands.

42
Baseline Report on Violence against Women in Bangladesh Prepared by Naripokkho and
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and coordinated by IWRAW Asia Pacific.
43
Ibid
44
Ibid

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

6. Consequences of Domestic Violence against Woman

Although the objective of family life is happiness, Domestic violence
against women is a barrier to happiness, not only impacting the life of
husband and wife but also for coming generations, as it also sets the
45
ground for unhappiness for them. So, DVAW is now seriously
undertaken by national and international bodies due to its direct adverse
consequences to women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive
health as well as socioeconomic consequences. In this regard, A
growing body of evidence documents the consequences of violence on
women’s health and well-being, ranging from fatal outcomes such as
homicide, suicide, and AIDS related deaths to nonfatal outcomes such
as physical injuries, chronic pain syndrome, gastrointestinal disorders,
unintended pregnancies, pregnancy complications and sexually
46
transmitted infections. Psychiatric morbidity, such as depression, stress
related symptoms, chemical dependency and substance abuse and
suicide are consequences observed in the context of violence in
47
women’s lives over time. Abused women are more likely than others to
suffer from depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, eating
problems, sexual dysfunction and many reproductive health problems,
including miscarriage and stillbirth, premature delivery, HIV and other
sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe
abortions. Consequences of abuse, such as HIV/AIDS or unplanned
pregnancies, may in themselves act as risk factors for further
aggression, forming a cycle of abuse.
About 25 per cent of physically abused women reported having lost
children after they were born alive compared to 18 per cent women who
48
were never abused. In Bangladesh, 13.8 per cent of maternal deaths in
pregnancy were reported as resulting from injury/violence.49 In addition,
children who witnessed violence were at a higher risk for a whole range
of emotional and behavioral problems including anxiety, depression, poor
school performance, low self-esteem, disobedience, nightmares and

45
Supra note 37
46
Supra note 38
47
World Bank. World Development Report 1993: Investing in health, New York: Oxford
University Press; 1993.
48
Naved R, Azim S, Persson L, Bhuiya A., Women’s health and domestic violence against
women in Bangladesh; Dhaka, Bangladesh: Urban Primary Health Care Project- Asia
Development Bank; 2002.
49
Ibid

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50
physical health complaints. Paltiel found that severe beatings usually
perpetrated by the husband accounted for 49 percent of household
deaths in Bangladesh.
51
The World Bank estimates that the economic cost of violence against
women is substantial involving direct medical and health care services,
productivity loss leave alone the pain and anguish involved. Violence
against women impoverishes individuals, families, communities and
governments and reduces the economic development of each nation.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified direct and
indirect costs of DV including healthcare, judicial, and social services,
and value of loss of productivity from work and the lifetime earnings for
DV deaths; and found that in 1995 DV costs $4 billion for healthcare
52
services in US. In Bangladesh, there is still a gap in estimating the
economic costs of DV.53

7. Protection against Domestic Violence under International

and National Law
7.1. International perspective
There are numerous international human rights commitments ratified by
Bangladesh by which it is obliged to respect, protect, and fulfill in
relations to domestic violence against women. International human rights
frameworks provide several provisions to protect women from any kind of
violation and exploitation derived within and beyond personal life. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 followed by the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) in the first instance provide the initial basis for equal right to
men and women. Next to these, the Convention to Eliminate
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) ultimately holds ratifying states
accountable for insuring that women's rights are protected under the
ICCPR and the ICESCR. Additionally, this convention provides a

50
F. Paltiel, Women and mental health: A post Nairobi perspective; World Health Stat Q
1987; 40 : 233-66.
51
S. Jejeebhoy, Associations between wife beating and fetal and infant death: Impression
from a survey in rural India; Stud Family Planning 1998; 29 : 300-8.
52
A. Morrison, M. Ellsberg and S. Bott, Addressing Gender-Based Violence: A Critical
Review of Interventions; the World Bank Research Observer, Oxford University Press,
2007.
53
Supra note 1

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

framework in which ratifying states are held accountable to change

cultural norms that oppress women and to enact women-sensitive
54
policies.
In 1992, General Recommendation No. 19 was added to CEDAW, which
more explicitly addresses the issue of violence against women by stating
that gender-based violence is discriminatory. The recommendation also
notes that previous state reports to the committee did not "adequately
reflect the close connection between discrimination against women,
gender-based violence, and violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms". As a result of this deficit, the committee proposed General
Recommendation No. 19 to provide a more specific linking of violence
against women and discrimination so that state parties would address
55
the issue of VAW in their reviews and report to the committee.
Subsequently, a new addition was developed, ‘the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women 1993’ at World Conference on
Human Rights in Vienna. This convention defines violence against
women as physical, sexual, and/or psychological violence within the
family, the community, and/or any violence that is condoned by the
56
state. Some examples included in the definition are marital rape and
spousal abuse, sexual harassment, and so on. Although non-binding, the
declaration has been viewed as a significant step in the attempt to
57
universalize concern about violence against women.
7.2. National Perspective
As the Bangladesh Government is committed to prevent violence against
women (according to the CEDAW and DEVAW), it has taken multiple
steps to ensure that the human rights of women are respected and
protected. That’ is why; legislation has been enacted to prevent violence
and discrimination against women ‘with a special emphasis to break

54
M. A. Freeman, Women, development and justice: Using the International Convention on
Women's Rights; In J. Kerr (Ed.), Ours by right: Women's rights as human rights (pp. 93-
105). London: Zed, 1993
55
Morgaine, K., 'Domestic Violence and Human Rights: Local Challenges to a Universal
Framework'; [Link].& [Link],109.
56
Hossain K.T. , Violence against Women in Bangladesh, p. 257-264 in the Proceedings of
the 8th Annual Conference
of Hong Kong Sociological Association, Keung, C.S., Traver, H. and Xiuguo, L. (eds.)
Narratives and Perspectives in
Sociology: Understanding the Past, Envisaging the Future, 2007.
57
Supra note 1, p.26

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 The Chittagong University Journal of Law

58
away from the tradition of treating women as property’. Thereafter, The
Constitution of Bangladesh protects women’s rights to life and safety by
including provision in article 27, 28, 31 and 32.

Accordingly, the Government of Bangladesh has undertaken series of

steps and measures designed to reduce violence against women
through amendment and enactment of The Penal Code 1860, The Code
of Criminal Procedure 1898, The Acid Control Act 2000, The Acid Crime
Prevention Act 2002, The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, The Dowry
Prohibition Act 1980, National Human Rights Act 2009, The Prevention
of Repression of Women and Children Act, 2000, The Cruelty to Women
(Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance 1983. All contain provisions punishing
those who are dare to commit any sort of violence/crime against women.
Here it becomes pertinent to mention that the main focus of these Acts is
the enhancement of punishment, rather than prevention strategies.
8. The Domestic Violence (Protection and Prevention) Act
2010: A little hope in darkness
Though domestic violence is not specifically mentioned in the 1979
CEDAW, General Recommendation 19 states that violence against
women is a form of discrimination that inhibits a woman’s ability to enjoy
rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men. It asks that
governments take this into consideration when reviewing their laws and
59
policies. As a state party of CEDAW, thus, Bangladesh has the legal
obligation to comply with the provisions contained in the convention.
Subsequently, in October, 2010 parliament passed the Domestic
Violence (Protection and Prevention) Bill that came into force in
December of the same year which criminalized domestic violence.

8.1. Salient Features of the Law

The Act in the beginning defines “domestic violence” in article 3 as
"abuse in physical, psychological, economical and sexual nature against
one person by any other person with whom that person is, or has been,

58
States News Service (2011) :‘Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women Considers Report of Bangladesh’ [online] Available,
[Link] [NEXIS] [Accessed
Nov. 13, 2012]
59
CEDAW Committee (1992) General Recommendation No.19 (llth session, 1992),
Accessed 2 February, 2012
[Link]

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

in family relationship, irrespective of the physical location where that act

takes place". The key features of the Act are summarized below:
8.1.1. Who can seek protection under the Act?
a. Any woman or children who are or have been at risk of being
subjected to domestic violence.
b. Any victim who is or has been a family relationship with the
respondent.
c. Any handicapped adult who is or has been subjected to domestic
violence. Any person can file a complaint on his behalf.
8.1.2. Against whom can a complaint be filed?
a. Any adult person who has been in a family relationship with the
victim
b. Relatives of the husband or intimate male partner including his
male and female relatives.
8.1.3. Forum of relief (Sections 4, 5 & 6):
a. For the purpose of this Act after receiving a complaint a police
officer, enforcement officer or service providers shall inform the victim
about the availability of the services including medical and legal aid
services.
b. Upon receiving complaint the first class Magistrate shall grant an
interim protection order or any other order under this Act.
c. Relieves can be sought in other legal proceedings such as petition
for divorce, maintenance.
8.1.4. Court's power to pass protection order:
The Court may pass a decree of compensation after ascertaining
victim's injury or damage or loss as a result of domestic violence. The
court may also pass at any stage of proceedings an order for
protection or for any other relief under this Act including a temporary
custody of children of the victim to the victim or the applicant.
8.1.5. Consequences of breach of Protection Order (Sections 30 &
31):
a. Breach of protection order is deemed as punishable offence though
cognizable and bailable.
b. First contravenes: imprisonment for six months or fine up to taka
ten thousand or both or engaging in a service benefiting to the
community for a period.

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 The Chittagong University Journal of Law

c. Subsequent contravention-imprisonment up to twenty four months

and fine up to taka one lac or both or engaging in a service benefiting
to the community for a period.
9. Problems in Reducing Domestic Violence in Bangladesh
Despite constitutional guarantees of gender equality and legislative and
affirmative interventions, the status of Bangladeshi women is on the
whole dismal due to domestic violence. So, it becomes relevant to find
out existing problems which are hindrance on the way of reducing
domestic violence. These barriers are as follows:
• Although Bangladesh has enacted numerous laws to diminish
women’s vulnerability to violence, due to inadequate formulation
and implementation of law, the actual impact has been very
marginal. In many cases full enforcement and implementation of
existing laws have not been achieved due to various factors,
including the lack of awareness of women’s rights among law
enforcement agents. The scarcity of effective agencies offering
supportive intervention and the excessive expenses and the
time-consuming process involved in litigation also prevent many
women, especially the poor and uneducated ones (who are the
worst sufferers), from seeking redress through criminal
60
proceedings. sLegal loopholes deprive women of justice,
especially where the aggressors are in a dominant socio-
61
economic position.
• Existence of variations in definition and recognition of violence
against women among the various agencies engaged in actions
designed to resist/reduce violence against women prevails. For
instance, marital rape is not recognized in law and culture. Incest
is a taboo topic. There are laws regarding rape and acid attacks
but there are no clear law defining domestic violence. In
Bangladesh, deprivation and denial of basic rights, especially
among married couples, is not given serious consideration either
by family or police and therefore remains unreported. Wife-abuse
(battering) is widely condoned and tolerated. These particular
problems due to variations in definition and recognition make it
extremely difficult to motivate people to contest violence against
62
women and to formulate appropriate strategies.

60
Supra note 50, p 255
61
Supra note 13
62
Supra note 30 p. 150.

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

• Effective implementation of legislation is constantly impaired by

the lack of support from dominant interests in the community
who legitimize violence as normal. Despite punitive legislation
most women have to abide by the rules of a patriarchal social
system, which reinforces gender inequalities. Health providers
are typically reluctant to ask women about experiences of abuse
in fear of either offending the victims or getting involved into
issues deeper than what they can handle. They lack knowledge
of national legislation as well as available services to which
women may be referred. Poor co-ordination among and across
agencies and institutions makes the process of negotiation
63
complex, inefficient and confusing.
• The accessibility of legal services to women, especially to poor,
rural women is limited. Legal services are city based and involve
costs that may pose as an insurmountable hurdle for many.
• In general, the high acceptability of violence within the society
acts as a deterrent for legal redress. As such the laws per se are
unlikely to have a major impact on the reduction of violence
against women.
• For the judicial measures to be effective the process of lodging
complaints, legal battles and judgment should be transparent,
fair, extremely well organized and uncomplicated. At present, the
64
existing legal process is far from the idealistic condition.
• Despite the severe consequences to women's physical and
emotional health, domestic violence is not recognized as a
serious social problem and a serious crime by society. Rather, it
is viewed as a personal matter that should be resolved privately
within the family. As a result, law enforcement agencies are
reluctant to get involved in cases of domestic violence and
women are often victimized with no recourse. The implicit
indifference of society in matters of domestic violence
perpetuates the notion that domestic violence is legitimate and
male domination in the family is acceptable. While men take
advantage of this right to exert authority, women's tolerance of

63
Supra note 50
64
Ibid

-17 123
 The Chittagong University Journal of Law

domestic violence further entrenches domestic violence into the

fabric of daily life in Bangladesh.65
• For the most part, married women in Bangladesh are not aware
of their own sexual and reproductive rights, and have only limited
control over their own bodies. A woman's freedom of choice
regarding sexual intercourse, birth control, pregnancy, pre-natal
care, and abortion is restricted by the collaborative decision-
making of her husband and his family.
• Similarly, a wife's personal convictions on birth control and family
planning are irrelevant in decision-making. If the husband
dislikes birth control, for whatever reason, then the wife has no
way of protecting herself from unwanted pregnancies. As a
result, a young woman might begin conceiving at a very early
age and endure several consecutive pregnancies in the hope of
a male offspring. That’s why, the in-law family pressures the
woman to give birth to sons, as if she has control over biology,
and if she fails to meet their expectations, they inflict various
forms of physical and psychological abuse on her.66
• Government statistics are on the conservative side. The statistics
rely on victims reporting their crimes to the police and lodging
complaints. Police stations and courts are not properly equipped
to maintain computer-based data and therefore there is a
significant doubt about the quality and accuracy of this data.
More importantly, considering the numerous obstacles to
registering complaints, particularly if they are sexual in nature, it
is likely that this data represent a very small number of incidents
of violence against women. In addition women are fearful of
being stigmatized or blamed for the incident, and this act as a
tremendous pressure not to report incidents. They are also
extremely wary of the police and fearful of possible retaliation by
the accused in the absence of a government run victim
protection mechanism and this inhibits them form reporting the
67
incident.

65
Supra note 37
66
Ibid
67
Farouk A. Sharmeen, Violence against women: A statistical overview, challenges and
gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them; BNWLA,
2005.

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

•
68
In rural areas people prefer to solve their problems in Shalish
as it is less time consuming, and less expensive. Though Shalish
is supposed to provide resolution of small dispute, in reality it is
matter of concern that many 'cognizable' cases (those cases
where police can arrest without warrant like rape, trafficking,
torture for dowry, sexual violence) are also tried by shalish in
absence of awareness of law. It is estimated that two thirds of
the disputes never enter the formal court process and are either
settled at the local level through informal settlement of the local
leaders or a village court or remain unsettled. Thus, this huge
numbers of complaints and settled cases remain
69
undocumented.
• It has also been observed that the annual statistical yearbook
produced by the government has yet to recognize violence
against women is a serious issue. This yearbook contains data
only on rape and unnatural deaths. Even they are reluctant to
publish domestic violence against women record maintained by
70
the home ministry.
• Aside from official statistics, several non-governmental
organizations compile data based on newspaper records. This
data is also undoubtedly under representative since
organizations only take account of a few national dailies and are
dealing only with those cases that are published in the leading
newspapers. It should be noted that that newspapers have a
71
tendency to cover sexual crimes rather than domestic violence.
• Reports of maternal mortality or suicide get less attention.
• Domestic violence and torture for dowry or dowry deaths
generally occur in the privacy of the husband’s home and with
collusion of his family members. Often police reports record
cases of dowry deaths or forced suicide as unnatural deaths. In
most cases, due to lack of proper investigation, the facts of these
cases remain unexplored. Often the murder of a wife for dowry is
disguised as suicide and some are even called .accidents as if
they are natural deaths in some epidemic. In rural areas most of
68
Shalish means informal local mediation councils to provide a traditional alternative
dispute resolution.
69
Supra note 67
70
Ibid
71
Ibid

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 The Chittagong University Journal of Law

the suicide or accidental deaths are predominantly female.

Suicide is looked upon with much prejudice in Bangladesh as
Islam prohibits this action. As such many suicidal cases are
72
falsely reported as accidents.
• In case of wife beating or domestic violence wives do not usually
report the abuse to the police. This is one of the main reasons
for not having any official statistics on offences like domestic
violence.
• Similarly, many battered women get emergency treatment (in
case of grievous hurt) in the local hospital or health complex.
73
These hospital registers also remain undocumented.
• Beside official statistics a lot of NGOs accumulate data by
conducting research. However, this research is conducted in
selected areas and there are very few pieces of research that
have covered the whole country. Here we would like to share
some problems that we have encountered in conducting
research on violence against women. While conducting research
on wife abuse it became apparent that interviewing a wife at
home is difficult as the presence of the in-laws makes it hard for
women to speak out. Furthermore the husband also does not
allow his wife to speak to strangers. As a consequence, the
research was confined to the victims of wife abuse who actually
came to the agencies. As victims of wife abuse rarely appeared
in these agencies, there were low numbers of possible
respondents in the research. In many cases they cannot
remember what has happened to her life and thus provide
inaccurate information.
10. Recommendations
From the above discussion on the aforesaid issue, it is crystal clear that
the reasons of domestic violence against women are lack of proper
knowledge as well as wrong explanation of laws about the issue.
Moreover, patriarchal tradition is also responsible which has dominated
societies from century to century. A congenial gender neutral
development initiative is almost impossible within the traditional social
frame work. However, considering the aforesaid issues and discussions,

72
Ibid
73
Supra note 37

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 Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview

the following recommendations can be suggested as a way out to

overcome the existing limitations as well as to ensure congenial
environment of women’s full participation in the socio-economic
development of any nation like Bangladesh:
1) Establishment of Domestic Violence Court can be one of the best
results in the country for successful prosecutions.
2) Greater economic opportunities for women, ensured through access
to credit, awareness increasing activities and skill training, would
enhance the self-esteem and status of women within households,
improve spousal relationships and therefore reduce domestic violence.
3) Group based credit programs could reduce men’s violence against
women. These programs could reduce women’s vulnerability to violence
by strengthening their economic roles and making their lives more public.
4) A review of successful methods of prevention and elimination of
violence and effective legislative and policy intervention is absolutely
necessary.
5) Collusion between local elites and religious leaders who abuse the
traditional local arbitration procedure is one of the main factors that
makes redress of abuse difficult. So there should be effective measures
and supervision to make the arbitration procedure easy and successful
and free from all types of exploitations.
6) One of the ways may be to increase awareness of basic human rights
amongst women and the society. Increasing awareness about the forms
of violence and its consequences on the immediate family and future
generations may be the approach that can help to prevent violence.
Schools are an ideal place where awareness of violence in relationships
can be built and healthy ways of forming intimate relationships can be
taught to address and challenge violence against women.
7) Changing the norms and custom about relationships and providing the
future generation with the skills needed to foster healthy relationships is
a viable way to shift from a society where violence against women is
widely condoned. However, simply setting up services for victims of
domestic violence will not improve the situation as only a small
proportion of abused women get access to formal services for abuse.
Public awareness campaigns such as public service announcements and
advertisements are common approaches to primary prevention providing
information regarding the warning signs of violence and community
resources for victims and perpetrators. Developing community-based
networks for coordinating services and programs is important in raising

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awareness of violence and providing support to victims. Community-

based educational activities may improve knowledge about women’s
legal and social rights and empower them to seek help for abuse.
8) The prevailing social norms and ideologies that permit and encourage
male violence must be directly and creatively addressed. The effort
should involve careful research to identify messages and interventions
that can change these attitudes. Educations in the classroom and at
community level as well as use of mass media are probable means that
are essential for diffusion of these messages.
9) One of the ways can be to raise awareness among community
members/family members that VAW is an extreme violation of women’s
human rights, is a criminal offense under the law, and also has serious
psychological consequences for both women and children.
10) The primary responsibility to conduct a study of violence against
women should rest on government at least once every year.
11) Accurate and systematic reporting of incidents of violence against
women, by various governmental (e.g. police, courts, or local
government) and nongovernmental organizations should be maintained
to address this serious social problem. Data on violence against women
should be freely available to organizations and individuals who wish to
access this information. Access to this type of accurate data, which is
collected on a routine basis, would have significant implications for policy
development in Bangladesh and would enable appropriate and targeted
interventions to be devised. Accurate data regarding the extent of this
problem would contribute enormously to lobbying for budgetary
allocation.
12) The role of state inaction in the perpetuation of the violence
combined with the gender-specific nature of domestic violence require
that domestic violence be classified and treated as a human rights
concern rather than merely as a domestic criminal justice concern.
13) State must exercise due diligence to ensure enforcement of laws if
they wish to avoid such complicity. Like India, provisions should be made
in the Bangladeshi Evidence Act which provides for the presumption of
dowry death when a married woman dies within seven years of her
marriage under suspicious circumstances on account of cruelty or
harassment by the husband and in-laws in connection with demand for
dowry. The onus of proof is also shifted on the accused in such cases to
show that the death was due to natural reasons. Moreover, a legal

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provision should be made to confiscate the property of the husband in

every case of dowry death
14) A gender sensitization module should be incorporated in all the
training programmes for the police, the prosecutors, the magistrates, and
the legal personnel and the judiciary.
15) The role of the courts in case of domestic violence assumes a great
importance. The courts are expected to deal with such cases in a
realistic manner so as to further the objects of social legislation, that is to
say, a lot more attitudinal changes on the part of the judges is essential
to make gender justice a reality, for example, judges should not be
confined to the literal interpretation of laws in ensuring justice.
11. Conclusion
Domestic violence is a violation of fundamental human rights. One of the
most important steps in effectively addressing violence against women is
to assess government compliance with international standards relating to
this human rights abuse. In Bangladesh, it is a major concern of
development interventions. Although it is globally recognized that
women’s rights are human rights, violence against women remains a
pervasive, yet under-acknowledged human rights violation being
especially prevalent in Bangladesh. Recognizing domestic violence
against women as a violation of human rights is a significant turning-
point in the struggle to end violence against women globally. That’s why,
a human rights perspective broadens the definition of domestic violence
against women and focuses attention on discrimination and inequalities
that are maintained or tolerated by the state and that increase women’s
vulnerability to violence. So, to promote women’s human rights and
prevent domestic violence against women, Bangladesh Government
must undertake more effectively measures in ensuring gender equality;
improvement of service delivery (ensuring access to justice and services
for victims, e.g. women’s shelters); the allocation of adequate resources
and funding. Government must be more sincere and sensitive to provide
access to immediate means of redress to the victims of violence.
Rehabilitation and protection mechanism have to be strengthened.
Government must adopt the policy of zero tolerance in bringing the
perpetrators of domestic violence to justice. Besides, to make a good
nation, domestic violence against women must not only reduce but it
must be stopped. Moreover, the conscious community should unite to
achieve ‘a world free from any type of violence against woman’ to make
the earth a heaven.

129