Hotline Asia Urgent Appeals -- UA990504(5)

Protection of Women Victims of Acid Attacks
~ BANGLADESH ~
04 May 1999

Action Requested || Sample Letter || Background
 

Summary

Sulfuric acid, cheap and easily accessible like kerosene, has emerged as a weapon used to disfigure and sometimes kill women in Bangladesh. It is estimated that there are over 200 acid mutilations each year in Bangladesh. According to newspaper reports in Bangladesh, in the nine-month period following April 1998, of 174 victims of acid attacks ten were girls under ten years old, 79 were young women between 11-20 years old, and 20 were women between 20-30 years old. 1n 1999, there were at least six acid attacks in January, four in February, and two in the first week of March.

The growing number of acid assaults in Bangladesh is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of women. As a state party to the Convention on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Bangladesh government is urged to make immediate arrangements for the adequate treatment and rehabilitation of all victims of acid attacks, as well as legislating against the attacks. For further BACKGROUND information, please refer to the Reverse Side.
 
Action Requested

Write to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to express your concern about the many occurrences of acid attacks. As well as legislative actions to reduce this crime, urge her government to immediately arrange adequate treatment for acid burns and rehabilitation of victims.

Send letters and faxes to:  
Mrs. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of People's Republic of Bangladesh
Prime Minster's Secretariat, Airport Road, Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh		 Fax : 880 - 2 - 813 244

or 880 - 2 - 811 490
CC Copy to:  
1. Mr. Abdul Matin Khasru, Minister for Law
Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliament Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 		Fax : 880 - 2 - 868 557
2. Mr Rafiqul Islam, Home Minister
Home Ministry, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh.		 Fax : 880 - 2 - 869 667
3. Diplomatic representatives of Bangladesh in your country.  
 

Sample Letter

Your Excellency,

We are writing to express our grave concern about the growing number of acid attacks on women in Bangladesh. We are alarmed by the over 200 acid mutilations each year, which are in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). Apart from taking legislative actions in response to the outcry against the violence against women, we strongly urge your government to make immediate arrangements for the adequate treatment of the acid burns and rehabilitation of victims.

Yours sincerely,
 

Background

Reported reasons for the acid-throwing attacks include the refusal of an offer of marriage, dowry disputes, domestic fights, and disputes over property. Acid attacks leave the victims scarred and often blinded. Treatment, too expensive for most victims, is an excruciatingly painful experience. The trauma stems from excruciating pain and unbearable shock compounded by social rejection even by the victims' own families. In addition, many cases go unrecorded because police do not take the reports seriously and in some instances were allegedly trying to convince victims to withdraw their complaints.

The Bangladesh government enacted "The Women and Child Repression Control Act- 1995", which legislated the death penalty as the maximum punishment for perpetrators of acid attacks. This law, however, has not been effective in reducing the incidents of attacks and the Bangladesh Parliament is currently considering new legislation to address loop-holes in the law. According to media reports, the government has appointed a six-member task force, headed by the Joint Secretary of the Home Ministry, which has been entrusted to put forward recommendations on acid importation, production, and its use and control.
 

Please remember to send copies of your letters to Hotline Asia for monitoring purpose.
Thank you for Your Continued Support!!