Barrister Azizun Nahar :
In these days, whenever we read the newspaper or watch the news over the TV channels, we get the news of crime committed by women most. There was a time, when it was totally out of our contemplation that a woman can commit crime. But, the situation is changed a lot now days. Day by day, women are wrapping themselves with crimes.
Now men and women have equal footing in the world of crime. A large number of female criminals are rising every year.
Last year, a nurse of National Heart Foundation was arrested from scene for murdering her husband. Teen-ager Oishee is not also apart from crime field, who made herself popular to the people of Bangladesh by showing cruelty towards her parents. These situations indicate a huge development of female criminality in our country.
In the last few years, the rate of female criminality is increasing in our country in an alarming rate as women are committing new types of crime and most of their crimes remain hidden. This is because; it is very difficult for the law enforcement agency to detect them as they are adopting new policies every day for committing crime. But, it is also true that women are not always directly responsible for choosing the job of criminality. Sometimes it becomes difficult for them to survive in the society. As a result, they adopt illegal policies to survive in the society and ultimately they become involved with crimes which are very much shocking.
Nowadays, women are committing different crimes such as, prostitution, exhibitionism and abortion, violent crimes and sexual disturbances, property crime and many other serious crimes.
The major causes of these are socio-economic factor, prejudice, economic vulnerability, unconsciousness, psychological disorder and drug addiction, cultural and educational factors. Revealing the related causation of female criminality it is important to have a better understanding of the whole reality.
A lot of female criminals are illiterate or semi-literate. They have no social knowledge and experience, thus their survival skills are poor. Whenever they take unlawful steps, they cannot solve the problems from a legal perspective. Rather they take extreme, violent and lawless attempts to solve the problem. Sometimes women themselves are victims of domestic violence, but they do not know how to use the law to protect them. They fight violence with violence and when they fail to protect themselves, they kill the perpetrator. Survey shows that 70 per cent of women criminals have suffered domestic violence for a long time before they commit a crime.
Provocation is the main thing to make them criminal. Breakdown of the marriage relationship is another serious psychological blow to women. The unmarried cohabitation family or temporary family which made by extramarital love relation lack legal protection in our country. It is difficult to establish mutual trust because of the lack of responsibility between men and women.
Therefore, violent affairs and sex murder can easily be triggered up. With the economic development and social transformation, a variety of unhealthy trends and phenomenon is on gradual increase. By the erosion of these unhealthy ways and customs, a part of the female cannot maintain the correct values and world outlook when they are in the face of the temptation of money. Some highly educated women have gradually relaxed their requirements and go into the abyss of crime. With the widening social gap between rich and poor, very few female has a well-balanced mentality of love and hate. This makes the female crime to have considerable space.
At present, the social media especially the Internet has much junk cultures such as pornography, violence, terror and murder. These cultures have a profound impact on the part of female of our society. Due to the low educational level and the poor cognitive ability of things, they are vulnerable to be suggested. Intoxication is another burning factor to giving birth a criminal in our society. There is no age limit or social class difference to take these things. They are not only taking intoxicants but also doing trafficking. As they have their secret biological structure, it becomes easy for them to carry drugs from one place to another. Some male are also using female to do that work in exchange of money.
Sometimes female adopt intoxicants from their very early age. This happens especially because of the family breakdown or unhappy family where parents are not happy with their marital life.
Children of that type of families remain frustrated and being frustrated they choose their own way of leading life. Step by step they become habituated with different intoxicants; as a result, they lose their conscience and placing them down on the bed of crime.
In recent years, the female crime rate has been a gradual increased and its growth rate has exceeded that of male crime. So, the absolute number and relative ratio of female crime is seriously increasing which cannot be ignored. According to the police record in 1971, the percentage of female criminality in Bangladesh was only 1.7 per cent, while the increased percentage of this crime is 3.5 and 3.8 in 1991 to 1992 (Police Statistics, 2010). Again, the data that is published in newspapers indicate that the percentage of female crime was only 4.27 per cent (7760) out of the total crimes (165339) occurred in 2007, which increased in 2008 at the amount of 13 per cent (59851). In one year, net increased rate of female crime is 8.73 per cent. Statistics says, year 2009 to 2014 this rate stands more than double. A research on 61 female criminals entitled ‘The nature and causes of female criminality in Bangladesh,’ shows that 36 per cent, 48 per cent and 18.2 per cent of female criminals’ age are below 25 years, between 26 to 48 years and over 46 years old. In addition to this, 42 per cent female criminals are illiterate, 77 per cent are married, and 57.4 per cent are professionally housewives. The monthly income of 595 women is between 1000 to 5000 taka and the number of their family members is more than 8 to 10 (European Academic research, vol.1, issue 4/July 2013).
We are reluctant to concentrate on the increased rate of female criminality in our country. In order to reduce and prevent female crime, the whole society should pay attention and strengthen the female moral education. The education centre should be placed in the aspects of the female self-esteem, self-reliance and self-improvement. Legal knowledge is also necessary to understand the boundaries between crime and non-crime. Moreover, they must have to be conscious about their legitimate rights and laws to safeguard. Women criminals have histories of sexual or physical abuse which appear to be instigators of delinquency, addiction and criminality. We must have to prevent these types of abuses by the help of legal services. We already have ‘Domestic Violence Act, 2010’ to prevent domestic violence. But our Penal Code is still reluctant to add domestic violence as criminal offence. This violence can only be reduced by legislating some strong punishments to punish the offender in that way which will be the example for others. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980 and laws against eve-teasing should be strengthened and more active to give the women social security. Governments at all levels should establish a special fund for women to eliminate the poverty of women, to achieve economic independence and to improve their social status. Women, who do enter the Criminal Justice System, while fewer in number and less violent than their male counterparts, often become extensive users of the system. This different treatment should be reduced. Moreover, number of males in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, programmes, policies and services often fail to develop their dealing with the female criminals. Research indicates that community based programmes may be successful in dealing with the problems of female criminals. But very few programmes target the specific needs of girls and young women. ‘Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000’ should be more effective. Rape, marital rape and forced marriage are the special grounds to make a female criminal. There must have some special law to stop these types of repression on women. Sexual harassment in the work place becomes more common nowadays. This is very much essential to legislate some separate laws to prevent this crime. Women’s safety should be the first priority to take any step to reduce female criminality where the security level is very low in our country. Again, ‘The Acid Control Act, 2002’ is here to prevent the acid throwing. But, there is no provision in this Act to limit the acid selling. Some special law should be enacted to merge the age limit of intoxicant or alcohol taking and also should impose strong punishments for violating the rules. Drug trafficking and taking extreme prohibited drugs should have strong legal boundaries for all ages. ‘The Special Privileges for Convicted Women Act, 2006’ has extended the scope to release the female criminals on conditional release (Probation). This Act should be well executed to encourage the female criminals for their self correction.
We should not forget that every female is a mother. So, if we want to develop our country, we must have to get good mother to give good citizens. Without reducing female criminality it is totally impossible to develop our citizen.
My earnest request will be to the proper authority to give attention on the increased female criminality of our country and implement some appropriate projects at least to minimise female criminality.
Only by this way, we will be able to get good citizens as more as possible and a crime free environment in our country. n
In these days, whenever we read the newspaper or watch the news over the TV channels, we get the news of crime committed by women most. There was a time, when it was totally out of our contemplation that a woman can commit crime. But, the situation is changed a lot now days. Day by day, women are wrapping themselves with crimes.
Now men and women have equal footing in the world of crime. A large number of female criminals are rising every year.
Last year, a nurse of National Heart Foundation was arrested from scene for murdering her husband. Teen-ager Oishee is not also apart from crime field, who made herself popular to the people of Bangladesh by showing cruelty towards her parents. These situations indicate a huge development of female criminality in our country.
In the last few years, the rate of female criminality is increasing in our country in an alarming rate as women are committing new types of crime and most of their crimes remain hidden. This is because; it is very difficult for the law enforcement agency to detect them as they are adopting new policies every day for committing crime. But, it is also true that women are not always directly responsible for choosing the job of criminality. Sometimes it becomes difficult for them to survive in the society. As a result, they adopt illegal policies to survive in the society and ultimately they become involved with crimes which are very much shocking.
Nowadays, women are committing different crimes such as, prostitution, exhibitionism and abortion, violent crimes and sexual disturbances, property crime and many other serious crimes.
The major causes of these are socio-economic factor, prejudice, economic vulnerability, unconsciousness, psychological disorder and drug addiction, cultural and educational factors. Revealing the related causation of female criminality it is important to have a better understanding of the whole reality.
A lot of female criminals are illiterate or semi-literate. They have no social knowledge and experience, thus their survival skills are poor. Whenever they take unlawful steps, they cannot solve the problems from a legal perspective. Rather they take extreme, violent and lawless attempts to solve the problem. Sometimes women themselves are victims of domestic violence, but they do not know how to use the law to protect them. They fight violence with violence and when they fail to protect themselves, they kill the perpetrator. Survey shows that 70 per cent of women criminals have suffered domestic violence for a long time before they commit a crime.
Provocation is the main thing to make them criminal. Breakdown of the marriage relationship is another serious psychological blow to women. The unmarried cohabitation family or temporary family which made by extramarital love relation lack legal protection in our country. It is difficult to establish mutual trust because of the lack of responsibility between men and women.
Therefore, violent affairs and sex murder can easily be triggered up. With the economic development and social transformation, a variety of unhealthy trends and phenomenon is on gradual increase. By the erosion of these unhealthy ways and customs, a part of the female cannot maintain the correct values and world outlook when they are in the face of the temptation of money. Some highly educated women have gradually relaxed their requirements and go into the abyss of crime. With the widening social gap between rich and poor, very few female has a well-balanced mentality of love and hate. This makes the female crime to have considerable space.
At present, the social media especially the Internet has much junk cultures such as pornography, violence, terror and murder. These cultures have a profound impact on the part of female of our society. Due to the low educational level and the poor cognitive ability of things, they are vulnerable to be suggested. Intoxication is another burning factor to giving birth a criminal in our society. There is no age limit or social class difference to take these things. They are not only taking intoxicants but also doing trafficking. As they have their secret biological structure, it becomes easy for them to carry drugs from one place to another. Some male are also using female to do that work in exchange of money.
Sometimes female adopt intoxicants from their very early age. This happens especially because of the family breakdown or unhappy family where parents are not happy with their marital life.
Children of that type of families remain frustrated and being frustrated they choose their own way of leading life. Step by step they become habituated with different intoxicants; as a result, they lose their conscience and placing them down on the bed of crime.
In recent years, the female crime rate has been a gradual increased and its growth rate has exceeded that of male crime. So, the absolute number and relative ratio of female crime is seriously increasing which cannot be ignored. According to the police record in 1971, the percentage of female criminality in Bangladesh was only 1.7 per cent, while the increased percentage of this crime is 3.5 and 3.8 in 1991 to 1992 (Police Statistics, 2010). Again, the data that is published in newspapers indicate that the percentage of female crime was only 4.27 per cent (7760) out of the total crimes (165339) occurred in 2007, which increased in 2008 at the amount of 13 per cent (59851). In one year, net increased rate of female crime is 8.73 per cent. Statistics says, year 2009 to 2014 this rate stands more than double. A research on 61 female criminals entitled ‘The nature and causes of female criminality in Bangladesh,’ shows that 36 per cent, 48 per cent and 18.2 per cent of female criminals’ age are below 25 years, between 26 to 48 years and over 46 years old. In addition to this, 42 per cent female criminals are illiterate, 77 per cent are married, and 57.4 per cent are professionally housewives. The monthly income of 595 women is between 1000 to 5000 taka and the number of their family members is more than 8 to 10 (European Academic research, vol.1, issue 4/July 2013).
We are reluctant to concentrate on the increased rate of female criminality in our country. In order to reduce and prevent female crime, the whole society should pay attention and strengthen the female moral education. The education centre should be placed in the aspects of the female self-esteem, self-reliance and self-improvement. Legal knowledge is also necessary to understand the boundaries between crime and non-crime. Moreover, they must have to be conscious about their legitimate rights and laws to safeguard. Women criminals have histories of sexual or physical abuse which appear to be instigators of delinquency, addiction and criminality. We must have to prevent these types of abuses by the help of legal services. We already have ‘Domestic Violence Act, 2010’ to prevent domestic violence. But our Penal Code is still reluctant to add domestic violence as criminal offence. This violence can only be reduced by legislating some strong punishments to punish the offender in that way which will be the example for others. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980 and laws against eve-teasing should be strengthened and more active to give the women social security. Governments at all levels should establish a special fund for women to eliminate the poverty of women, to achieve economic independence and to improve their social status. Women, who do enter the Criminal Justice System, while fewer in number and less violent than their male counterparts, often become extensive users of the system. This different treatment should be reduced. Moreover, number of males in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, programmes, policies and services often fail to develop their dealing with the female criminals. Research indicates that community based programmes may be successful in dealing with the problems of female criminals. But very few programmes target the specific needs of girls and young women. ‘Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000’ should be more effective. Rape, marital rape and forced marriage are the special grounds to make a female criminal. There must have some special law to stop these types of repression on women. Sexual harassment in the work place becomes more common nowadays. This is very much essential to legislate some separate laws to prevent this crime. Women’s safety should be the first priority to take any step to reduce female criminality where the security level is very low in our country. Again, ‘The Acid Control Act, 2002’ is here to prevent the acid throwing. But, there is no provision in this Act to limit the acid selling. Some special law should be enacted to merge the age limit of intoxicant or alcohol taking and also should impose strong punishments for violating the rules. Drug trafficking and taking extreme prohibited drugs should have strong legal boundaries for all ages. ‘The Special Privileges for Convicted Women Act, 2006’ has extended the scope to release the female criminals on conditional release (Probation). This Act should be well executed to encourage the female criminals for their self correction.
We should not forget that every female is a mother. So, if we want to develop our country, we must have to get good mother to give good citizens. Without reducing female criminality it is totally impossible to develop our citizen.
My earnest request will be to the proper authority to give attention on the increased female criminality of our country and implement some appropriate projects at least to minimise female criminality.
Only by this way, we will be able to get good citizens as more as possible and a crime free environment in our country. n
(Barrister Azizun Nahar is an advocate at Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Director, Fair International Human Rights Society Dhaka, Bangladesh)
