DHAKA THIS WEEK

Mahbub Husain Khan

This week saw the killing of two RAB personnel, at Aminbazaar, on the western periphery of Dhaka city. But mystery still shrouds the killing of the two RAB personnel who came out from Savar camp in the afternoon of Saturday and went to the village adjacent to Arnin Bazar in plainclothes and without carrying any firearms. We understand that they were carrying out an operation for detecting the leaders of a drug supplying cartel located at Savar. Maybe they were posing as putative customers , which is why they were in plainclothes and without any arms. But, unfortunately, they seem to have been recognised as RAB personnel by the miscreants, despite being in plainclothes and the miscreants took the opportunity to kill them. As I write this column, most of the people arrested in connection with the murder have been released, and the identity of the real culprits and the motive behind the killing are yet to be revealed to us.
   
   Drugs galore
   Drugs, starting from phensedyl, popularly known as daail and alcoholic drinks and climbing up the ladder to heroin, have become a bane for our society, targeting the cities like Dhaka where the younger generation are the most vulnerable. And, in fact, there has been a steady increase in drugs seized by the concerned agencies, and last year showed a 25 per cent rise in quantity seized over that in 2005.
   This indicates that there has been a rise in the supply of drugs within Dhaka city and the rest of the country. As Bangladesh is situated between the drug-producing Golden Crescent to the west of us and the Golden Triangle to the east, we remain at continued risk of transit of drugs, dealing in drugs, and drug-related crimes as is evidenced by the murder of these two RAB personnel. Opium-based pharmaceuticals including Phensidyl and other medicinal drugs are being smuggled in from India, while injectible heroin comes in from Myanmar. This is a cause for alarm, and it is very timely that the US Drug Enforcement Agency would be holding a 'Basic Drug Enforcement Training Course' in Dhaka starting from April.
   As the investigation reports of the fire at the BSEC building are being handed over to the government authorities, a devastating fire has devoured a shanty town at the Boubazar area of the port city of Chittagong. As I write this column twenty-one people have lost their lives in the fire, mostly women and children, and many others injured. Eight of the 35 houses comprising the shantytown have been completely gutted and some of the rest partially. The Deputy Director of the Fire Brigade of Chittagong town revealed that the fire started from a mosquito coil of the shed owned by Halim, and spread to the neighbouring sheds.
   
   Dhaka's shantytowns
   As time passes, and shantytowns grow up in the cities of Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna, and the other big towns in the country, the houses and sheds are at risk because of the ignorance of the dwellers about fire hazards and safety measures, and the absence of firefighting equipment. Besides, if structures such as the BSEC building lack fire-fighting equipment and fir-safety measures what can we expect at the slums and about the safety measures of the tenants? The situation is further complicated as some of these slums are owned by people with political influence and muscle-power, who construct the sheds at minimum cost to reap excessive profits from the poor tenants, and sometimes themselves set fire to the slums to rid themselves of non-paying tenants.
   As the hot season approaches, all such slums and temporary sheds are facing fire risk and disaster in the form of life and property looms on the horizon. The government needs to step into constructing low-cost dwellings for the urban poor, and also direct the landlords to construct sheds and houses keeping in view the building codes and ensuring adequate fire-fighting equipment in these settlements. Also the poorer section of the city-dwellers who live in shanty-towns have to be made aware of the fire hazards and the steps to be taken to prevent fires and the immediate steps to be taken in case fire does break out, and while waiting for the fire brigade to arrive.
   
   Higher judiciary
   The new Chief Justice, Justice Ruhul Amin's frank admission that there have been some lapses in the higher judiciary in recent times raises our hope that under his stewardship the justice system would regain the confidence of the people. There is no doubt that the delivery of justice in a few instances and the conduct of some judges have eroded the respect and confidence of the people considerably. Also unprecedented is the long story published by a leading vernacular daily highlighting improprieties by the outgoing CJ.
   People who want to see the higher judiciary as the last resort have good reasons to be skeptical. More than a few controversial decisions and actions the conduct of some judges is mainly responsible for this. Between Justice Latifur Rahman's stint as the Chief Adviser and the retirement of Justice J. R. Modassir Hossain, many things happened that not only strained the bar-bench relationship but also contributed to creating reservations in the minds of the people. So much so that the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) refused to formally bid farewell to the immediate past CJ.
   That the senior most judge of the Appellate Division has been made the CJ is a good beginning. And now it is for the new CJ to restore the honour, dignity of confidence of the whole justice system. In a country where all kinds of irregularities take place the judiciary has a very crucial role to play. It alone can act as the bulwark against injustice and all kinds of wrongs. The confidence of the people that they will get justice must be restored. Justice Amin may reconsider the constitution of the benches of the High Court Division and give important responsibilities to really deserving judges. Equally helpful would be to revive the hearings of many important cases that have remained in the cold storage for an unusually long period of time.
   The Supreme Court is the guardian of the Constitution. In the exercise of this role the SC must be perceived as more powerful than the executive or the legislature. That alone will stop the executive from committing excesses. The SC must also be pro-active using the powers conferred on it by the Constitution. People look forward to the Supreme Court to guard their rights as citizens of a free country. These rights shall have to be protected.
   Another issue we would like the new CJ to consider is the problem faced by litigants in coming all the way to the capital to get decisions by the higher judiciary. Many people have suggested formation of Circuit Courts in the divisional headquarters. This is a problem that needs attention. The idea is to make justice easily available. There are so many other things that needs to be done to put the nation back on the track. The SC has a very important role to play in this. We welcome Justice Ruhul Amin as our new CJ.
   Panic wave triggered by the ongoing crackdown on dishonest businessmen and traders has hit the market hard with prices soaring almost daily. The short supply of essentials has led to steep rise in prices, thus hitting the common man below the belt. This is quite natural. With demand rising or remaining the same, the scanty availability of foods in kitchen and other markets is certain to make traders greedy as they are human beings, not angels. There is in fact no way that these traders could be roped in. And businessmen grouped under the FBCCI has brought to light what they are really facing today. They warned on Thursday that the supply of essentials was suffering a severe setback due to what they said the harassment of some businessmen by law enforcers. The FBCCI leaders said, nabbing of a businessman who is guilty is laudable, but in some cases businessmen who did not commit any offence are also being harassed creating a panic wave among the trading community. Happily, they have demanded immediately formulation of a national policy on doing business as they said its absence has provided the scope for harassing honest businessman. Such policy should incorporate the rules for different business activities like stocking or importing goods, so that those who broke the rules would be identified as guilty. The problems the businesses are facing since the anti-crime drive got momentum as soon as the present caretaker government assumed office and the business community sought measures to resolve the problems to smoothen supply and keep prices within affordable level. Happily, they have decided to compile the remedial measures that emerged from the meeting and submit those to the government on Sunday for taking necessary steps.
   The interim government should take long-term measures like an exercise on supply projection of some selected essentials and taking advance measures based on such projection. There may be a price coordination committee, which will compare the prices of the essentials with international price and make the prices public every fortnight.
   While the present government has undertaken an emergency drive against corrupt politicians and businessmen, criminals and terrorists in society, causing panic among them, and taken other emergent measures to tackle the problems faced by the public, prices of essential commodities still continue to rise.
   The prime responsibilities of any democratic government are to ensure food, shelter, security and employment for the people at the optimum levels in line with available resources in the country. But we have seen rising prices of essentials over the past tears have put pressure on all of the citizens of the country, excepting the most affluent, while the prime agenda of the Caretaker Government is to ensure free and fair elections and maintain law and order during their tenure, other major issues also need to be addressed as these affect the general populace who, ideally, have the only say in the general elections. The issues of rise in prices and short-changing the consumer in respect of quality goods and services are now major issues in the day-to-day life of the citizens The Caretaker Government and the concerned Adviser now need all help and cooperation to ensure that the syndicates are no longer able to manipulate prices, and are punished for their past crimes, under the existing laws of the land. If necessary, their enterprises engaged in the food trade will have to be run by administrators appointed by the government. The ensuring of supplies reaching the markets from rural areas, and imported through land and seaports, and from the genuine suppliers without let or hindrance, is now a major agenda to be tackled by the CG. To redress the plight of the consumers, laws for protection of consumer rights have to enacted by special ordinance as soon as possible, we look forward to the coming days when we expect that the CG would take all emergent steps to normalise the price level by punishing the hoarders and corrupt syndicates, ensuring smooth transport of essentials across the country, and punishing the purveyor of low-quality goods ands services. This would bring relief to the people, now hard-hit by rising prices and delivery of shoddy goods and services.
   
   Health and wealth
   For people of my age, particularly in these times at Dhaka, there are two essential tasks to attend to. The first is to look after one's physiological assets, the other is to look after one's worldly possessions. And for both of these tasks one has to seek the help of experts/specialists. And who may be such experts? In respect of one's physiological assets, it is the doctor. And to preserve one's worldly possessions, it is the lawyer. But in this day and age, at home and abroad, none of these advisors/experts come cheap.
   Let us first consider the lawyer, who will try to save your landed property from being sequestered, your moveable assets from being attached and your income from being grabbed by divorced wives and their children. All you have to do is to select a lawyer who will not be approached by the other party, and who will not be charging you the earth. But this is a tall order. It is in the nature of lawyers that they will charge you the earth, to save you from banks, debtors and your past wives. At the same time, they will be in touch with the opposing parties, and charge them the same amount to see to it that the problem is not solved quickly and efficiently, hut lingers on, so that the payments also continue. And even if they --- your lawyers --- do not charge you their fees, exempting you because of friendship of long standing, they will ask you to pay incidentals for typing, photocopying, the judge's 'peshkar', which may well amount to more than the lawyer's fees.
   And what happens when you first consult your lawyer? He or she (nowadays there are quite a few women lawyers around, and after all it is the second oldest profession in the world) invariably shakes his/her head and says that you have come too late and the case is a difficult one. But all is not lost. After all lawyers must serve all clients, if the clients have money.
   And what about your other concern, your physiological assets? There is the good doctor. At the very outset, he will also say that your case is a grave one, and you have come too late. He will then prescribe a series of medical tests. And as you all know, from each test, the doctor keeps a cut from the pathological laboratory he refers you to. And God help you if you take the law into your own hands and go to another laboratory. Your doctor will refuse to see the reports. Personally I am extremely lucky because my lawyer R M, and my doctor M R do not practise the usual stunts of the lawyer and doctor of this day and age at home and abroad.

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Salma symbolises empowerment
of women

Parvez Babul

International Women's Day is observed in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.
   In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day on 8 March.
   Violence against women is the most common but least punished crime in the world.
   It is estimated that between 113 million and 200 million women are demographically "missing." They have been the victims of infanticide (boys are preferred to girls) or have not received the same amount of food and medical attention as their brothers and fathers.
   The number of women forced or sold into prostitution is estimated worldwide at anywhere between 700,000 and 4,000,000 per year. Profits from sex slavery are estimated at seven to twelve billion US dollars per year.
   Globally, women between the age of fifteen and forty-four are more likely to be maimed or die as a result of male violence than through cancer, malaria, traffic accidents or war combined.
   Thirty-three-year-old woman Salma can enjoys her due rights now and has become an influential woman in her community of Zoinkathi village in Patuakhali. She has become key figure to ensuring household food security for her family. Through homestead food production, which is supported by Helen Keller International, Salma cultivates more than 20 varieties of year-round vegetables in her homestead model farm and rears poultry too. Some of the varieties of vegetables at her garden are spinach such as pui shak, kolmi shak, palong shak, tomato, carrot -- all rich sources of vitamin A that helps to keep her and her family healthy. Salma and her family members consume vegetables every day, which is why they are healthy now and know that vegetables prevent malnutrition and many diseases, so they do not get sickness very often as they did before. The local people buy seedlings from Salma for their own homestead vegetable gardens, which helps Salma meet her household expenses and her children's school expenses with the money she gets from selling the seedlings and surplus vegetables.
   Salma motivates her neighbours, community people as well as her relatives also to follow her and benefit through homestead food production. She hopes to educate her three-year-old daughter Ankhi like her sons and is determined not to agree to her early marriage er. Because she is aware of the negative impact of early marriage especially of girls as she was a victim herself because of her family's poverty. Salma has learnt also about the special nutritional needs of growing girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers and other members of her family. I talk to her about International Women's Day and she remarked in, "Poor women should get the opportunity to earn money like me. Because earning makes them self-reliant, able to make decisions, empowers and helps prevent violence against women".
   Salma recalls the days before her involvement in homestead food production when she had no alternative but to take low quality foods only once or twice a day because there was not enough for her. She talks of her days of sorrow and hardship but smiles realizing her success in homestead food production. She is now the main decision-maker of her household and even her husband and mother-in-law seeks her advice to vote for the candidate in national election. Salma's husband Enayet earns some money working as a day labourer, but Salma earns more than her husband, with a minimum of 2000 taka per month through selling vegetables and seedlings from her garden. Her husband Enayet, smiles with joy and said, "I am proud of my wife Salma and happy to honor her decisions she takes for our family. I was unaware before, but now I realize that my wife has the same rights like me".
   Salma is planning to make a big poultry farm and buy land to build living rooms and a television set with her savings. Rezaul Karim, Technical Officer (Horticulture) of Helen Keller International (HKI), Bangladesh who supervises this programme said, "Salma got free training from Helen Keller International on year-round vegetable cultivation, how to prepare and use organic fertilizer and on poultry rearing. She established her village model farm with our technical assistance under the Jibon O Jibika project. Like other members of our programme - we provided Salma free seeds of vegetables and 20 ducks to rear. Salma worked for her garden side by side with performing household chores and thus has been able to become an exceptional self-reliant and empowered woman."
   Though Salma is illiterate and can only make her signature, yet she is a role model by being a peer educator for nutrition education through the homestead food production programme. By promoting good eating habits to prevent vitamin A and iron deficiency to her community even the Union Council Chairman and the local people publicly appreciate Salma.
   Listening to Salma's success story, I appreciate her optimism and see her as an ideal motivator who represents the poor disadvantaged women in Bangladesh.
   In a recently published bulletin, Helen Keller International (HKI) highlighted that the prevalence of malnutrition in rural Bangladesh is among the highest in the world. 46 percent of children under five years of age are underweight and 36 percent of mothers are chronically energy deficient. Micronutrient deficiencies affect more than 50 percent of children and women of reproductive age, according to HKI's survey in 2005. The findings of the Homestead Food Production Programme has demonstrated that integrating poultry-rearing with homestead gardening has additional benefits.
   "Investments in homestead food production has proved to have huge returns to support and empower the most valuable resource in Bangladesh -women who work tirelessly for their families -no greater return can be guaranteed than investing in women", concluded Chantell Witten, Country Director of Helen Keller International, Bangladesh.

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