503 women publicly flogged in Bangladesh

[lizzie]

Well, maybe sometimes you just gotta drag people kicking and screaming into modernity.

Dhaka: A demand to prohibit the Muslim clergy from issuing fatwa is gathering momentum in Bangladesh as 503 women have been subjected to public flogging since the year 2000.

The issuing of religious edicts has not yet been banned. The high court declared it illegal in 2001; speakers said at a roundtable titled "No more fatwa" here Sunday.

Speakers urged the government to make issuance of fatwa a punishable offence since 503 women have fallen victim to it.

"Fatwa means legal opinion. Only court can give legal opinions. The man who announces fatwa has no legal authority to do it," Justice Mohammad Gholam Rabbani said referring to the judgment he passed in 2001.

"Fatwa should be made punishable as it goes against the existing law of our country," he was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

Largest selling Bengali language daily Prothom Alo arranged the roundtable following last month's death of a teenage girl from Shariatpur near here, who was raped by a neighbour and then whipped a 100 times after a fatwa was issued.

She could not take more than about 80 lashes and fell unconscious, eyewitnesses told media. She died a day later in hospital.

The case caused a national outcry after it was found that the police and the hospital colluded with the family of the alleged rapist to deny that there was any wrongdoing.

The Dhaka High Court has ordered reopening of the case and multiple probes against the police and the hospital authorities.

Judges Mohammad Gholam Rabbani and Nazmun Ara Sultana in the landmark 2001 judgment declared that the "legal system of Bangladesh empowers only the courts to decide all questions relating to the legal opinions on the Muslim and other laws as in force in Bangladesh".

However, the 2001 judgment was stayed following a Supreme Court order, said Gholam Rabbani.

The apex court passed the stay order against the backdrop of killing of seven people in violent clashes between police and demonstrators, who took to the street following the verdict.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam said the incident of the teenager who was whipped to death brings the social system, state machinery and performance of law enforcers into question.

503 women publicly flogged in Bangladesh

[GottaGo]

Originally Posted by lizzie

Well, maybe sometimes you just gotta drag people kicking and screaming into modernity.

503 women publicly flogged in Bangladesh

Sometimes, I just wish I could spend 10 minutes, just 10 minutes, in a room with these people.

[Mustang Man]

Originally Posted by GottaGo

Sometimes, I just wish I could spend 10 minutes, just 10 minutes, in a room with these people.

It wouldn't do any good. You can't talk sense into a crazy person.

[GottaGo]

Originally Posted by Mustang Man

It wouldn't do any good. You can't talk sense into a crazy person.

Who said I was going to talk?

[Mustang Man]

Originally Posted by GottaGo

Who said I was going to talk?

There are many ways to "talk" - Fists, Louisville Slugger, 500 lb bomb, nuclear warhead...........................

[GottaGo]

Originally Posted by Mustang Man

There are many ways to "talk" - Fists, Louisville Slugger, 500 lb bomb, nuclear warhead...........................

And if they already have been, all the better.

[Trinnity]

Crazy ass Muslims. How long will the world suffer from their brutal "religion" and Sharia Law???

[faithful_servant]

I'm confused.... Is beating women to death legal in Bangladesh? If what these people are doing isn't legal, then arrest them, charge them and if found guilty, toss them in jail. If it is legal, then what's the big deal (from a legal POV, not a moral one)? This whole thing sounds like someone whining and complaining, but not being willing to take the steps necessary to stop this stuff. If this is an illegal activity, then start throwing the violators in jail for breaking the law.

[lizzie]

Originally Posted by GottaGo

Sometimes, I just wish I could spend 10 minutes, just 10 minutes, in a room with these people.

I just had a mental image of a bad-ass woman kicking ass and taking names.

[lizzie]

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

I'm confused.... Is beating women to death legal in Bangladesh? If what these people are doing isn't legal, then arrest them, charge them and if found guilty, toss them in jail. If it is legal, then what's the big deal (from a legal POV, not a moral one)? This whole thing sounds like someone whining and complaining, but not being willing to take the steps necessary to stop this stuff. If this is an illegal activity, then start throwing the violators in jail for breaking the law.

I get the impression that there is a huge struggle going on between those who want to move into the 21st century and those who wish to remain oppressive out of religious zeal.