Gender Violence Among The Urban Dwellers In Dhaka City

Abstract

Present research has identified gender based violence as one o f the social problems in the study area threatening to social harmony and peaceful family life. It has brought about insights how the social values, beliefs, customs, and convictions in a male centric culture like Bangladesh make the settings for gender based violence in domestic and public areas. This study explores main facets o f gender violence in urban Dhaka with underlying causes and impacts as well. It regards gender violence in urban area is distinct from rural area in nature and types. Its nature o f cruelty and sufferer experience varies from place to place on ground o f socio-economic status o f both victim and culprit. Undertaking anthropological insights on male-female dichotomy with grave concern, this study exploited observation, key informant, case study, household census, semi-structured interview and focus group discussion with a view to bringing about research outcome justifiable both from qualitative and quantitative perspective in a triangulated form. Subsequent number o f women encounters gender violence both in home and outside while their story remains untold due to various social facts internalized by the study. It successfiilly addressed factors that make urban women more fragile to face gender violence; patriarchy, poor education, network and training, absence o f rule o f law, legislative lengthiness and victim stigmatization. In addition to vulnerability factors, this study identifies issues that exacerbate gender violence; women complexion, dowry, pornography, indictment, mental distance and communication gap, drug addiction, lack of economic empowerment, polygyny, affairs, expectation of baby boy, the culture of wife beating, unemployment and poverty, absence of social and religious norms and values, open internet access, and unplanned urbanization and public transportation system. Working women shockingly report that the amount o f gender violence in public domain is increasing day by day and the possible reason behind this is long term detachment o f urban lower status men from sexual partner or wife. Emphasizing on Ardener's Muted Group theory, this study found male centric society predominates and set forth model that make women silent to abide by men suppression in the form o f violence and not to resist it. Among various types o f gender violence identified by this study, mental violence is like silent killer which does not have remedies and resistance at all. Because most o f the incidences o f mental violence by intimate partner remain in domestic sphere no one can know. Insult or humiliation by husband is the most common form o f mental violence that causes extreme suffering for women. Prevalent types o f gender violence in public domain encountered by women are improper sexual comments and unwanted touching on sexual organs o f women body. This anthropological in-depth study has observed victims sufferings very closely that it sorted out some ways out to reduce women vulnerability to, and protect from gender violence