Bangladesh
Marriage Laws entrap Women into Poverty
Considering Bangladesh's patriarchal history, it comes to no surprise that more and more Bangladeshi women, as well as their households, are finding themselves poverty stricken according to recent documentation by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP). This significant rise in poverty among women is in correlation with the personal laws on marriage, separation, and divorce that are enforced. These strict laws impede current actions in fighting poverty in the country, as they oppress the rights of women and leave them destitute after abandonment and divorce. Women's rights activists in conjunction with Human Rights Watch (HRW) are urging the Bangladeshi government to reform these laws enabling women marital property rights and government assistance to impoverished women.
The personal laws of Bangladesh complicate the situation of marriage and divorce. Even though Islam is the national religion and its religious laws are in place, different religious communities are governed by their respective personal status laws. The intrinsic nature of the judicial system and its practiced laws diminish the hope for equal rights for women. Polygamy is also recognized under Bangladeshi civil law, allowing men to have multiple wives, which can contribute to the poverty of women. For instance, one man can abandon three women impoverished all at once and not face any consequences or repercussions of said action. As in most patriarchal societies, woman enter marriage in hopes of financial security and prosperity. The clutches of male dominance within this country ensnare women into domestic abuse, exploitation, and coerced free labor. 55% of Bangladeshi women over the age of ten are married. During marriage, many of them are expected or most often times forced to hard labor of maintaining the family farms and livestock or perhaps their husbands enterprise. Should they not, they are subjugated to their husbands furry through violence, such as the example of “Namratu” in the article. It is therefor incumbent upon the Bangladeshi government to reform the marriage laws to end the feminization of poverty and its rapid growth.
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