Some mullahs in Madargonj sub-district of Jamalpur district, about
200 km north of the capital Dhaka, have said that women who go to
public polling stations without a veil to vote would be violating
Islam.

The elections for the union council, lowest tier of the local bodies,
are to be held between Jan. 26 and Feb. 2.

But for decades, until last year's general polls, thousands of women
across this South Asian country have been unable to vote. About 30
percent of the 700 women voters completed primary education and can
read and write, but many are forced to remain inside their homes
during elections. In truth, Professor Nawab Ali, an authority on
Islamic law, says "fatwa" issued by mullahs or any other person are
not binding because the country is still governed by civil law. "No
one should indulge in issuing "fatwa" and bypassing civil laws in
force," he said.

The solution lies in using the law but also going beyond it,
activists say. Farida Akhter, a women's rights activist, said: "Only
the creation of awareness among women about their rights would save
them from the excesses of some mullahs and practices that support
them".

But changing deeply rooted practices is not easy, especially when it
comes to mullahs who enjoy the support and patronage of village
headmen and wield considerable influence in rural areas.

Take the case of Nazma, 24, who was flogged publicly following a
"fatwa" by a mullah in her village home in Comilla district, about
100 km north-east of Dhaka, in October. She was given 100 lashes in
front of her close relatives, neighbours and villagers for eloping
with her lover and marrying him.

Public lashings, though illegal, continue to happen, according to
rights campaigners who cite figures saying that up to 200 "fatwa"
prescribing lashings were issued by mullahs across the country from
1993 to 2000. These statistics were taken from newspaper reports,
which means the real figures could be higher.

Women were the victims of "fatwa" in 99 percent of the cases,
according to the Ain O Salish Kendra (Law and Arbitration Centre), a
human rights organisation in Dhaka.

Because of the issuance of "fatwa", at least 18 women committed
suicide in different parts of the country from 1993 to 2000, it added.

These suicides are murders, according to the centre. It said that
from 1993 to 2000, as many as 12 women went missing or had to leave
their villages following "fatwa" against them.

The law (barring "fatwa") failed to take its own course even in the
cases of direct killing that took place in the presence of hundreds
of people at several places,? the ASK report said.

The "khatib" or chief priest of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque,
Maulana Obaidu Haque, says that there are misconceptions of "fatwa",
an Arabic word that means decision or resolution.

"The purpose of "fatwa" is to explain the laws of "shariah" (Islamic
law)," he added. Therefore, he said, an Islamic scholar can pronounce
"fatwa" but none has the right to punish anyone. "Punishment can be
given only by a court, not the people who utter "fatwa"," he
maintained.

According to the Bangladesh Women's Council, 39 women were disgraced
by "fatwa" from January to October 2002. "The actual number of
repressed women and families will be much higher as most such
incidents occurring in remote areas are not reported," said a council
member.

Critics say some mullahs, especially those with inadequate knowledge
or training in Islamic jurisprudence, appear to be ignoring a January
2001 High Court judgement that outlawed the issuance of "fatwa".

In that landmark judgement, Justice Golam Rabbani and Justice Najmun
Ara Sultana "-the first woman high court judge in Bangladesh " ruled
that any "fatwa" by any unauthorised person is illegal. The judges
urged the national parliament to enact a law making issuance of
"fatwa" by unauthorised persons a punishable offence. However, no one
has been reported to have been penalised as yet for issuing "fatwa"
and ordering public whippings.

"The legal system of Bangladesh empowers only the courts to decide
all questions relating to legal opinion on Muslim and other laws in
force," the judges' verdict had said.

Salma Ali, executive director of the Bangladesh National Women
Lawyers Association, explains that the lower standing of women
accounts for their vulnerability to abuse in a patriarchal society.
Those in rural areas, often uneducated and poor, are also less likely
to challenge religious leaders.

More education and freeing them from poverty would shield women from
chauvinism and rights abuses resulting from religious practices, Ali
argues. But Mawlana Hasan, a Muslim cleric in Dhaka, argues that
"fatwa" is better able than the civil law system to respond to
society's ills, saying there are many corrupt politicians, officials
and police anyway.

"The procedure of civil law is cumbersome, time consuming and
expensive. The overwhelming majority of the poor people of this
country cannot expect to get justice from the present polluted legal
system," he argued.

In contrast, he said, "fatwa", which has the efficacy of rendering
instant justice, can respond to the needs of common people.

But a female advocate of the High Court pointed out: "The welfare and
legal matters of the people will be decided by the state law and not
through the "fatwa" as defined by inadequately educated mullahs."