On September 24, 2004, Rahela Akhter Lima’s suffering ended after nearly a month of unimaginable pain after her assailants left her for dead following rape, cutting-slashing, mugging, and robbery and then came back to torture her some more with acid. She was a strong-willed garment worker-housewife from Savar, aged only 20 years. September 24 marked her third death anniversary.
   Has Rahela received any justice after three years by the arrests, convictions, and exemplary punishment of her assailants? Has her death and suffering made women safer in Bangladesh? Or like many other sensational cases, has Rahela been forgotten except by her near and dear ones after the initial stories and demonstrations in August and September 2004? Are her assailants still roaming freely around the streets of Savar, Jahangirnagar University and Dhaka?
   As reported by some blogs and websites, sometime during the last week of October 2007, there will be a court hearing on her case and her interests will be represented by Ain-O-Salish-Kendra. Will she finally receive justice even though the main accused is still absconding and others are out on bail? People around the world and in Bangladesh are watching to see if Rahela finally receives justice.
   During that long month in 2004, she survived long enough to bravely name two assailants, Linton and Delwar – former college classmates – and two other miscreants – Akash and Kabir – who took her belongings, raped her, slit her tendons and cut into her spinal cord, and left her in a Jahangirnagar University garden on August 22, 2004. They returned on August 24 and found her still alive. They then poured acid on her. After three days and two nights of suffering, a gardener found her and the police took her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she struggled against infected wounds, severed spinal cord, and paralysis until she died on September 24, 2004.
   As often occurs, despite her mother Rokeya filing a case with the Savar police station, the accused absconded, and Liton reportedly disappeared into India. The police arrested only his brother who had helped him escape. During September, many women’s and labour organisations (Mahila Parishad, Karmajibi Nari, Ain-O-Shalish Kendra, Samajtantrik Mahila Forum, Bangladesh Jatiya Sramik Jote, Nari Sramik Jote, Sammilita Nari Samaj, Bangladesh Legal Services Trust, and National Garment Workers Federation among others) in Savar and other locations condemned violence against women, recent rapes of garment workers and, in particular, the gruesome treatment of Rahela and that her attackers continued to roam freely. After the September 25, 2004 article in the Daily Star, no further articles appeared on her case; no newspaper reported any progress in apprehending Liton and others. Rahela’s case seemingly disappeared among the articles on the September and October floods and monsoon rains as have many other cases of violence against women since then. Recently, reports and news about her case have started appearing in Bangla and English blogs, Facebook, Google and even video on Youtube.
   Given the ongoing violence against women, these organisations moved on to protest against other cases and lax law enforcement. Speakers and researchers from the One-Stop Crisis Centre reported that garment workers and students are particularly vulnerable to such assaults, sexual harassment, and eve teasing as they move about from home and work. Ironically, these women are the future and earners of Bangladesh, but still face the dangers of the streets going to and from work and school.
   Despite the monthly litany of newspaper reports and clippings on violence against women in Bangladesh by various women’s and advocacy groups, who is conducting any follow-up or monitoring of these cases? Who is monitoring the police, prosecutors, and justice for the victims and punishment for the eve-teasers (whose actions have led to suicides among their targets), domestic abusers, rapists, and murderers? Will Rahela and any of her forgotten departed sisters ever receive justice?
   Dr Kathryn Ward
   Professor of sociology and women’s studies Southern Illinois University, USA

The points made by Quader Mahmud from London on the above are spot on. There is absolutely no reason the EC can take such an un-constitutional position just because there are some obvious in-built problems in registering the people with no fixed address/floating population.
   I strongly suggest the CEC take a leaf out of the National Census authority’s book and their considerable expertise in taking the decennial, full census of the entire population. I recall they do the count of floating population at well-known sites i.e. railway stations, launch/steamer ghats, parks, and other haunts including the makeshift slums and so on, at one pre-announced night with an army of enumerators. The same technique with appropriate modifications could certainly produce the desired results in a large measure.
   Syed M Hussain
   Uttara, Dhaka

The mistreatment of menial labourers in Dubai is tantamount to slave labour in the old days. All these glitters in Dubai to meet the lust and greed are built on the blood, tears, and sweat of the people who are kept in modern slave camps with meagre salaries and subhuman basic amenities.
   People of UAE should be ashamed of this mentality which goes against any civility and Islam. The Palms and the Burj Al Arab-Dubai 5 star Hotel do not look that magnificent when the pains and sufferings of the masses who built them sigh in the desert wind of the Arabia.
   NK
   USA

In the report of the World Development Forum, Bangladesh has slipped a few more places from 98 last year to 107 this year. The report has identified poor governance and inability and inefficiency of the civil administration for the negative assessment.
   The caretaker government must take note of this assessment for although they inherited poor governance and a corrupt bureaucracy, they have done very little except to put more fear into civil bureaucrats that has further aggravated the situation. The inefficient bureaucracy has now literally gone into the shell in the belief that if they do not work, they will not make mistakes and hence they can keep themselves immune from the wrath of the Joint Task Force and the ACC.
   People who have business with the government are the worst sufferers these days. It is now like winning a lottery to get a file through any of the government ministries for a decision.
   The caretaker government has further complicated the situation and has virtually ensured a permanent limbo and status quo in the Secretariat by not expanding the number of advisers. The two-third of the ministries are without any leadership at the ministerial/adviser level since 1/11 and those who have information about these ministries tell me that files are piling up there in heaps because the civil servants are happy not to work and there is no pressure from the top for not working.
   Against the report of the World Development Forum and the sorry state of affairs in the civil bureaucracy, we have advisers like General Matin who are constantly telling the media that 10 advisers are enough! Wittingly or unwittingly, the caretaker government may be piling up more mess for the next elected government and by the time that government comes, the civil bureaucracy may be irreparably paralysed.
   The World Development Report’s analysis on Bangladesh has not come as anything unexpected and it is time for Dr Fakhruddin to wake up.
   Shahjahan Ahmed
   Dhanmandi, Dhaka

The guy who was supposed to do the accounting for the whole of our country, M Saifur Rahman, forgot to do his own accounting. He was shouting at our poor people for not paying their taxes while he didn’t bother to pay his own. Holy rasmalai! And now this guy is back as the chief of BNP. Great! With people like these coming back to politics yet again, things are looking really bright for Bangladesh.
   Now that the Awami League and the BNP have finally ‘reformed’ their parties, and with the prospect of having our ‘democratic’ Bangladesh back, I am sure the Bangladeshis already got big smiles on their faces. Time for happy snaps, people. Things are looking very bright for us. Say ‘Cheese’!
   Azad Miah
   Oldham, UK

This is in reference to Ziauddin Ahmed’s letter related to the metro. I want to point out to him that in a mega city like Dhaka roads should cover 25 to 30 per cent of the total area whereas the coverage now is only 6-7 per cent. The thumb rule of transportation engineering says — a mass transit system should be introduced if the population of a city is one million whereas the population in Dhaka is close to 12 million and that will double by 2015.
   Since Dhaka lies in the heavy metro zone, heavy metro system (sub-way/underground mass transit) should be introduced. Please check the fare of the sub-way proposal in Dhaka which is kept below the bus fare just like Kolkata and this is a BOT project and in the stage of final approval. Another thing is that PICOM has already approved the project. Also please check the situation of London and their metro network. As Engr. Shafi Ahmed is a resident of London, he knows the importance of underground mass transit and this is the permanent solution to remove congestion. I hope our government will study all the options.
   Engr Shafiqul Alam
   On e-mail

The reasons behind the fall of Bangladesh’s export since August are as follows:
   Since August 2007, German customs has decided to impose 12 per cent customs duty on all textile imports from Bangladesh, irrespective of the presentation of GSP certificate Form –A.
   The reason being that there is indication that to a large extent, textiles produced in other countries are imported with GSP Certificates issued by Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau.
   Last March (2007) a fact-finding trip from the OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) visited EPB in Bangladesh and had found that EPB has issued a total of 998 Certificates of Origin Forma A to 2 textiles manufacturers in Bangladesh on the basis of fake or falsified documentation. These companies did not apply for these Certificates of Origin and they were also not exporters to the EU on their own names.
   These proofs of preference were declared invalid by the EPB during the investigation. However, till today no action has been taken against those who are alleged to have committed the fraudulent practice.
   According to an analysis of the authority responsible for verification, the Federal Centre for Certificate of Origin Verification in Muenster, Germany, during the period from 1st July 2007 to October 2007, a total of 249 Certificates of Origin Form A for consignments according to chapter 61 & 62 of the harmonised system were sent for verification to the EPB. Out of these 35 Certificates of Origin with merchandise with a value of Euro 2.3 millions were again declared invalid. The fact that every 7th Proof of Preference was objected as well as the amount of the objected volume of goods alone justifies the proportionality and necessity of securities imposed by the German Customs.
   Recently, the European Commission has published a warning notice to the importers, pointing out irregularities with imports of textiles from Bangladesh and that a customs debt can occur when these goods are transferred into free circulation. Therefore, the member states of the European Union are obliged to take all necessary security measures in order to protect the financial interests of the European Union.
   No sane importer will put up 12 per cent duty for Bangladeshi goods when he can get the same goods cheaper elsewhere.
   We, the importers of Bangladeshi textiles to the EU are shocked to observe the indifference of the BKMEA and the EPB and the military-backed caretaker government. On the contrary, they are still looking for the culprit of this misery in the EU.
   Hope this news will shake up the relevant departments to take immediate action before more damage is done.
   A textile importer
   Germany

It is small wonder that rickshaw fares are far higher than what the outdated fare chart published by the city corporation mentions. This is the factual position and needs to be looked into in a rational manner, considering the realities of the stratospheric rise in the prices of daily necessities. Rickshaw driving is a demanding task, and so is the need for adequate nourishment for the ill-paid rickshaw drivers.
   I believe that basically the rickshaw fare is arrived at through a verbal bilateral agreement between the two parties –– the passenger and the rickshaw driver. Any fare chart just based on mileage of the journey only is fundamentally neither correct nor based on the realities and variables of income in rickshaw driving. Income generation from rickshaw driving which must have idle (no revenue) mileage and time, plus needed rest periods, is influenced by many actual variables that cannot be ignored. Among others, it depends on distance covered, where the passenger wants to go, traffic density, weather conditions like heat and humidity, rain and flooding of roads, time of the day or evening and prospect of getting a return passenger after dropping the passenger. These are important factors that should determine the fare to be charged. We cannot brush aside these realities of rickshaw driving and just determine fare on the basis of distance covered which seems to be the basis on which the authorities concerned fix rickshaw fare.
   Easier to monitor and control is the amount charged by the rickshaw owner for hiring out his or her rickshaw for a fixed number of hours to the rickshaw driver. This could be displayed prominently on the rickshaws. It may vary depending on the condition and get-up of the rickshaw. It could be changed, based on changes in the registration fees and the investment needed. These factors can change, but at a slower rate than the reality of galloping prices of daily necessities which reflects directly on the fare charged by the rickshaw drivers.
   SA Mansoor
   Dhaka

In different ways, beliefs of a particular religion may vary to the point of contradiction with other religious practices and beliefs. This normally does not affect others as each religion has its own and separate domain. But if a religion-based political party with an agenda and commitment to further its own religious cause comes to power, then a situation is created where believers of other faiths become vulnerable to subjugation which is against the basic principles of freedom assured by the state to an individual person to practise his/her faith.
   There are scores of examples in the history where this freedom has been violated. In the context of Bangladesh today, which is a multi-ethnic/multi-religion society, religion must not be exploited for political gains. This is against the spirit of the Liberation War of ‘71.
   Akhtar Ahmed, Bir Protik
   Khulna