Are Rokeya Begums not safe any more?

Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq

[Published as Post-Editorial in The Independent, March 13, 2002]

The shameful violence against Rokeya Begum, a CARE staff in Bogra, can't but agonize any conscientious human being. The name "Rokeya Begum" still resonates in our Bangladeshi society as a symbol of emancipation and empowerment of women. In one of her famous speeches, "The distressful condition of the Muslims of Bengal" [Rokeya Rochonaboli, Bangla Academy], she emphasized the vital importance of women's education.

Many women in our society are not only getting education, but also becoming independent, which, by the way, should not at all be in conflict with Islam. Many fortunate women among us are getting higher education, holding important public and private offices, and also playing active role in the society's upliftment. Despite many criticisms of our NGOs, one can't deny that given the tendency of confining or relegating the women behind the screen by our traditional society, the role of NGOs was inevitable and indispensable. Since orthodox religious establishment serves primarily a defensive or reactionary role in regard to women's issues, women would seek empowerment in any way they find possible and desirable.

We see many women today involved in NGO sector, playing an important role. Whether we want a different social environment or not, women can't be and shouldn't be expected to meet the reactionary expectation of the traditional religionists. In working among the poor, deprived, and the have-nots, women's participatory role can't be discounted.

Thus, when I read the news of crass violence against such participating women (or against ANY women), I find it a great affront to our collective dignity. The Rebel Poet reminded us in his Nari [woman] poem (my translation):

Gone
Is that age,
When man was the master
To enslave woman in his wish's cage.

This age is of empathy, of being human,
Of equality is this new time,
No one would be the other's prisoner -
Don't you hear that chime?

If man imprisons woman,
Then the turn will come sure,
In the same prison he built
He will rot and die without a cure.

Take this lesson -
A wisdom always right and true,
If you make suffer someone,
Suffering will catch up with you.

The attack against Rokeya Begum, a CARE staff, by local political goons, especially of affiliations with the current government, represents the terrible condition of our nation, and it would only make the previous government and its terrible reign appear somewhat palatable. The way this CARE staff was treated is simply inhuman. The role of the law enforcement agencies is not atypical, but a painful reminder of our dysfunctional condition.

According to the Daily Star report (February 20, 2002), the police has expressed their inability to do anything against powerful local BNP leaders without any directive from Dhaka. What happened to all those bold statements from the current PM that the law enforcement agencies have been given the due authority to enforce law without waiting for any such directive, and the government does not want to interfere with the law enforcement process. Ah, the same kind of political rhetoric for public consumption only!

How a little, transient power blinds us! How a little change of political wind unwinds our humanity! Today the politicians and their cronies, like vultures, are feasting over the country's (mis)fortune. It is unfortunate that our leaders are so callously insensitive to the condition of the country and its people. Along with the frequent Hajj-bound PMs, current and the former, the people should  remember:    

"Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition..." [13/al-Rad/11]

The Prophet said: "Your leadership will be a reflection of you (the people)." [Mishkat al-Masabih, #3717]

The key for a different and better future is still in the hands of people.

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