Bangladesh Woman

Women are often the best credit risks, and they are much more likely to use their profits to benefit their children by making investments that are most likely to break the generational cycle of poverty. In one World Bank study of the Grameen Bank and two other large MFIs in Bangladesh, a direct and positive relationship was found between the amount a woman borrowed and the likelihood that her daughter would go to school. A similar relationship was not found in the case of male borrowing. ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

On October 6, 2000, in Gazipur, two boys and one woman were injured in an altercation between Hindus and Muslims. Muslims conducting Friday prayers asked Hindus to lower the music volume at a nearby Hindu festival. When the Hindus refused, Muslims from the mosque damaged a Hindu deity, leading to the violence and injuries. This altercation was resolved through dialog between community leaders. ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

Rejected suitors, angry husbands, or those seeking revenge sometimes throw acid in a woman's face (see Section 5). ...

Two NGO's lead the effort to counter acid violence: Naripokhkho ("Pro-Woman") and the Acid Survivors' Foundation. Between the two, their coordinated approach includes public awareness, case reporting, short- and long-term treatment, and legal justice. Societal support for both organizations in their attempts to combat acid violence is very strong. ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

Children, usually young boys, also were trafficked into the Middle East to work as camel jockeys. It was estimated that there were anywhere from 100 to more than 1,000 underage South Asian camel jockeys working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone; while many come from India and Pakistan, a growing number came from the country. Criminal gangs procured most of the youths. The majority of such children worked with the knowledge of their parents, who received as much as approximately $200 (Taka 10,000) for their child's labor, although a significant minority simply were kidnaped. The gangs bringing the jockeys earned approximately $150 (Taka 7,500) per month from the labor of each child. The usual procedure used was to add the children's names to the passport of a Bangladeshi or Indian woman who already has a visa for the Middle East. During the year, police made arrests in several incidents for trafficking in young boys to the Middle East and at year's end these cases were pending bef ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Equatorial Guinea is a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, involuntary domestic servitude, and other forced labor. Women and children are trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from West and Central Africa, principally Cameroon, Nigeria, and Benin. Women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation in Malabo, where demand is high due to the booming oil sector. Cameroonian and Beninese children are trafficked to Malabo for exploitation as street and market hawkers; Nigerian boys are trafficked to Rio Muni (the mainland) for exploitation as agricultural workers. The Government of Equatorial Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Over the past year the government has made a number of efforts that attest ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

Police sometimes rape women who are not in custody.  The Government reported that in May a police constable raped a woman who was not in police custody.  After an investigation, the constable was charged with rape and placed under suspension.  The case was pending at year's end.  During the first 9 months of the year, one human rights organization documented nine cases of police raping women who were not in custody.  In addition after women report that they are raped (or are involved in family disputes), they frequently are detained in "safe custody," where they endure poor conditions, and sometimes are abused or, as has been reported in prior years, are raped (see Sections 1.d. and 5).  Citing statistics from prison officials, one human rights organization asserted that as of September, 307 females (including adults and minors) and 114 male children were in "safe custody."  Government figures showed that 353 persons, including 139 women, were in safe ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

Newspapers reported attacks on Hindu homes and rapes of Hindu women at several places in the country soon after the October 2001 election. According to a human rights organization, at least 10 Hindu women were raped and a number of Hindu homes were looted by low-level BNP workers a few days before the BNP took power from the nonpartisan caretaker government that supervised the election. Some incidents of rape and looting also took place in the southwestern district of Bagerhat. The situation improved after the new government members visited the areas and deployed additional police to troubled locations. In February 2002, an AL-backed Convention on Crimes Against Humanity alleged "systematic persecution" of religious minorities and called for the perpetrators to be brought to trial under local and international laws. In two cases, courts convicted the perpetrators. On September 10, 2003, a Speedy Trial Court in Barisal sentenced Ibrahim Khali and Dulal to life in prison (in ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

The law provides for punishment for intercourse "against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal." In practice the law was rarely invoked; however, according to HRW, gay men were harassed and raped by police and local criminals without proper methods of recourse, due to societal discrimination against gays. HRW also found that gay men often faced threats of extortion. According to HRW, considerable official and societal discrimination existed against those who provided HIV prevention services, and against high-risk groups likely to spread HIV/AIDS. ... [Read More]

Bangladesh

The exact number of women and children trafficked was unknown, but human rights monitors estimated that more than 20,000 women and children were trafficked annually from the country for the purpose of prostitution. Most trafficked persons were lured by promises of good jobs or marriage, and some were forced into involuntary servitude outside of the country. Parents sometimes willingly sent their children away to escape poverty. Unwed mothers, orphans, and others outside of the normal family support system were also susceptible. Traffickers living abroad often arrived in a village to "marry" a woman, only to dispose of her upon arrival in the destination country, where women were sold by their new "friends" or "husbands" into bonded labor, menial jobs, or prostitution. Criminal gangs conducted some of the trafficking. The border with India was loosely controlled, especially around Jessore and Benapole, making illegal border crossings easy. ... [Read More]