Can an Unscientific Test Prove Rape?

Bangladeshi rape victims not only suffering from grave physical and mental trauma for rape rather we can marked it as first phase of the torture which open multi windows to be persecuted further. The path way to get justice for rape victim is very stony in this country. Rape victims are usually treated judgementally from the moment they call up the incident. Indeed the victim needs to start her struggle towards justice. Victims are stricken by social stigma, repeated utterance of her harrowing experience in every steps of getting justice, maligned two-finger test, dishonour during trial by questioning chastity, humiliation by defence counsel during cross examination etc. Investigating agencies also highly relies on two-finger test to frame charge against rapist. Consequently, victims are disinclined to report the crime due to the fear of losing her privacy again after the occurrence of a monstrous crime against her. Despite that, if one justice seeker shows courage to go to court, becomes frustrate and hopeless at one point about the minimum chance of getting fare justice. As a result, either she doesn’t pursue the case properly or withdraw her complaint to become hassle free.  

Yet we can change the scenario by altering the horrendous two-finger test of the victim, amending the patriarchal legal provision of questioning character, introducing technology during investigation and so on. The horrific two-finger test is nothing but an extra torture and cruel treatment to the victim to prove the crime. The two-finger test or virginity test allows doctor to inspect the hymen of women who have been raped and also test vaginal size and laxity to decide whether the victim is habituated to sexual intercourse.

While there is no scientific or legal connection between rape, and habituation to intercourse, this evidence is frequently used in our criminal justice system to conclude whether rape took place or not. As if rape can only be committed against a virgin girl. What happen if somebody has previous sexual orientation like a married lady is being raped? It indicates that our total system is only focusing to a woman who has no prior sexual experience and others are disqualified to get justice! Additionally, if the rape survivor passes the test then she is to be treated as virgin that means she rape was not took place or alternatively, if she fails, it indicates she is sexually habituated which ultimately favors the accused.

Moreover the size of vaginal opening varies among women; the hymen is a flexible membrane which can be ruptured before sex due to many reasons. While gang rape happened the fact that finding habituation may be a result of that gang rape itself. Gang rape is more severe in nature than rape which needs to be addressed specifically by the law. Regrettably we do not have any separate provision to deal with the offence of gang rape except any woman or child dies in consequence of gang rape or injury causing out of rape. Incident may become more brutal if it commits against a pregnant woman.

However, there are too many variables to determine the flexibility of the vagina e.g. the size of doctor’s finger, perception of easy accessibility of the doctor may varies from person to person, experience etc. Additionally, rape can also be committed by partial penetration of penis; complete penetration or ejaculation is not at all necessary to prosecute the rapist. Even someone can bring allegation of rape against an individual with whom she is habituated to sex before. Habituation to intercourse itself is not a ground not to be raped.

Albeit sexual violence by means and manner other than penile-vaginal penetration is common and may take the form of penile-anal penetration, penile-oral penetration, finger-vaginal penetration or object-vaginal penetration but these are not recognised as any form of sexual violence in our country. One may merely bring an action for hurt or grievous hurt for these. Nevertheless, these are sexual assaults also and cannot be proved by outrageous two-finger test.

Furthermore, there is no sufficient and well equipped medical arrangement for this test in every hospital and often it is done by male doctor and male assistant in an open place which is a serious violation of right to privacy. Indeed this virginity test is a further arrangement of traumatization, aggression to her dignity, sexual violence by the system. However, forensic medical evidence can play crucial role to convict the accused but these issues should be dealt more sensitively. That is why; set up a separate designated room for forensic and medical examination of victims is crying need for us to avoid the infringement of privacy. There must be provisions to provide alternative clothing for the victims and smooth collection of medico legal cases evidence keeping in mind the sensitivity of the circumstances. To do any sort of medical examination for a rape victim if the doctor is male, a female attendant must be there and while carrying out medical tests no third person must be present in the room other than the doctor. Counselling should also be provided to victim to address the psycho-social impact of sexual violence and to alleviate her woes. However, doctors should not use the term rape in their opinion as it is purely legal matter which will ultimately determined by the court what we observed in Banani rape case rather they can say whether there is any evidence of forceful intercourse. Media should also be sensitive in reporting these incidents.

The World Health Organization’s guidance on the medical examination of rape survivors highlights that even a speculum examination of the vaginal walls to locate injuries “may be particularly difficult for the patient, as it may remind her of the assault. Even so concerned are not taking consent of the rape survivor to carry out the test. They presume that consent is not particularly important, as filing an FIR is deemed to entail any necessary examinations which is a misconception. Informed consent of the victim should be taken before any examination and informing to parent/guardian in case the victim is under aged or not in a position to give her consent. Names of examination, intended sample, purpose of analysis and how the procedure may be carried out has to be informed to the victim.

To come to a conclusion against this invasive human right violating, the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST); seven others human rights, women rights, legal service organizations and two other individuals filed a public interest litigation before the High Court Division (HCD) challenging the test in 2013. In response, the HCD issued a rule against the legality and authenticity of the outdated draconian practice of two-finger test. The court also ordered to frame a guideline to eliminate this practice of the test and arrange sensitivity training for the medical personnel who will deal the matter. However, regrettably the rule still remains pending before the court. Nevertheless, criminal justice experts, lawyers, police and forensic specialists have demonstrated that this kind of test has neither evidentiary value nor scientific merit rather breaches national and international human rights standards, compounds the victim’s trauma and paradoxically amounts to a further sexual assault.

Hence, we should not waste more time to abolish this terrific and unscientific process to prove rape case. Government must take immediate step(s) to eliminate two-finger test and to formulate a comprehensive medical guideline for forensic medical care for sexual assault. Otherwise, victim will not only abused by the rapist but also infringed by the state as well. 

Published in the Young Observer of the Daily Observer on 08 June 2017 

Rape Laws Defeat Justice

Albeit rape is one of the primeval crime and a common phenomenon around the globe but the position of women are more vulnerable in this milieu in Bangladesh due to many factors including but not limited to medieval definition of rape and legal framework, lack of proper investigation and speedy trial, character assassination outside and inside the court, unfavourable social surrounding, unjust humiliation to the victim and her family, least chance of getting proper remedy, continuous harassment etc. However, rape is not only an atrocious crime against the body of a woman but also a crime against basic human rights and a violation of the victim’s most cherished fundamental rights, namely, the right to life. 

In addition to this, Bangladeshi patriarchal society tagged a seal upon the rape victim that because of rape she is losing her honour and dignity as if society put honour into the vagina while the fame of rapist remains intact! Also our spoiled mentality love to stamp the victim as “dhorshita” meaning the woman being raped instead of blaming the perpetrator.

However, while the country is changing towards modernity, there still we foster 157 years old penal provision to prosecute the offender! According to that backdated law, rape can only be committed under any of the following circumstances:

If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman firstly against her will or secondly without her consent or thirdly with her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death, or of hurt; fourthly, with her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband, and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married and fifthly, with or without her consent, when she is under fourteen years of age.

However, there is a thin distinction between the two identical words “will” and “consent” describes in the first and second circumstances of committing rape respectively. Former denotes a desire, longing, ability to do something that you intend whereas later is permission or acceptance to do something or in other words it signifies agreement to a certain proposal. However, consent has to be given prior to the act; an accused cannot say that a woman consented to intercourse after he had sex with her. The presumption of consent must not be subjective that means the accused cannot argue he believed there was consent. Rather, he must demonstrate that he believed there was consent because he took reasonable steps to ascertain consent to the specific sexual activity.

Furthermore, accused cannot presume consent himself because of absence of actual physical resistance to the act of penetration. Nonetheless, the phrase ‘against her will’ reflect ideas that victims of rape must behave in a certain manner for the offence to be made out. This should be removed in recognition that respect for sexual integrity and autonomy does not require the victim to fit into any stereotypes on how he or she should behave.

However, the statutory definition of Rape in Bangladesh makes it transparent that rape is totally a gender biased offence which can only be carried out by a male through penetration and the victim can only be a female. To be specific, our criminal justice system only accepts penile-vaginal non-consensual intercourse. Penetration of the anus, urethra or mouth by the penis, or penetration of vagina, anus, urethra or mouth by objects other than penis is struck out of the definition from the 1860’s Penal Code (PC).

Gender neutrality within rape statute is the concept that the criminal law should recognize that both men and women can be rape victims as well as perpetrators. Hence the pronoun ‘her’ used in the definition should be replaced with gender neutral language in recognition that men can also be victims of rape and sexual assault. Similarly references to ‘man’ in mistaken identity should be reframed in gender neutral terms.

Nevertheless, under the Section 375 of the PC, a female cannot face the criminal trial as offender of rape, interestingly enough, the same punishment for rape, i.e. capital punishment or life imprisonment, can be imposed on her for instigation or abetment of such offence. Section 30 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention (WCRP) Act, 2000 confirms that the punishment for instigation or abetment of offence, under this Act, shall be the punishment provided for the commission of the offence or for the attempt to commit the offence.

Another mentionable problem which Bangladesh suffers concerning legal framework dealing with rape is absence of recognition of marital rape in any of the penal law. No married woman can seek legal protection if she is being raped in home by her husband. This discriminates between married and unmarried women. Under the present law, married women are deemed to give their consent forever at the time of solemnization of their marriage and are frequently obliged to have sex, even if she is not willing, with her husband. Additionally, our laws have no remedy against gang rape. Only the WCRP Act has mechanism for capital punishment if any woman or child dies in consequence of gang rape or injury causing out of rape.

It is important to remind, one has absolute right to withdraw the given consent at any point of sexual intercourse and continuation contravening that, even further penetration to any extent after withdrawal of consent shall commit rape. Hence, none can argue that he did the act with her loved or known one. Even if we imagine a situation where the victim likes to pretend she does not consent as it increase her sexual pleasure and shout “no” seriously while anyone penetrates to her shall also commit rape. Because, the offender must consider all the relevant circumstance reasonably and objectively to believe her consent. Moreover, uttering “No means No” or “Only Yes means Yes” is not necessary to reflect the consent even a damn lady can refuse to have sex by her attitude. Therefore, blaming victim’s attire, gesture, returning of home at late night or going to a party at night in an unknown atmosphere is not at all a valid justification behind committing rape. 

However, there is huge anomaly in determining age of consent to sexual activities in different laws of Bangladesh. The WCRP Act, 2000 defines child as below 16 years old person and any person having sexual intercourse with a below sixteen years old girl whether she consents or not and whether he lawfully marries her or not shall be prosecuted for rape. On the contrary, the Majority Act, 1885 implies the age of majority to give valid consent as 18 years. Then what will be the consequence of a consensual intercourse between 16-18 is unclear from the law. Furthermore, the PC, 1860 stipulates sexual intercourse a man’s own wife not being under thirteen years of age, is not rape whereas the WCRP Act of 2000 penalizes sexual intercourse between a legally married couple where the age of the wife is below 16 years! Additionally, under the Shariat, Muslims are allow to marry at the age of puberty and the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 stated that the rules of Muslim marriage shall be applicable to the Muslims that also creates another confusion regarding age of consent to determine commission of rape.

Yet we do not have any victim and witness protection law in this land. Another reason behind barrier for rape victim to seek justice is lack of gender sensitivity in our judicial system. Most of the rape cases are deal by the male personnel. From the very beginning of a case, a victim feels shy to disclosure all the matters before a male. Moreover, our police and other stakeholders are not properly trained to deal with the matter delicately. Though we have a victim support centre in the capital but that is not sufficient to handle huge number of cases occurred all over the country frequently.

However, most powerful reason behind non access to justice by the victim is character assassination by the defense lawyer during trial. Section 155(4) of the colonial Evidence Act 1872, relating to character evidence in rape cases permits the defense counsel to bring previous bad character of the victim to the court to vitiate her credibility. The section says "when a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be shown that the prosecutrix was of generally immoral character."

The motivations behind this ancient rule are to prove the likeliness of the victim to consent to the conduct charged and to impeach her creditworthiness during the trial. Ironically, the character of the alleged rapist cannot be called in question under S. 54 of the Evidence Act unless he takes advantage of the 'mercy rule' and offers evidence of his own good character.

However, we need a 'rape shield' law which prevent questioning the victim about her past sexual history or behaviour except in rare circumstances. Generally previous character has rare connection with the case due to the issue of consent basically in the existing case. A person having several previous sexual records has equal right to get justice against an unlawful sexual intercourse and a mere history of past record may not diminish the merit of the present case.

Another point to remember is that, there is no time limit to file criminal case albeit it is suggested to file the case within possible shortest time to establish the allegation strongly and to prove the crime more easily. Despite that, lapse of time cannot make the matter silly. Apart from confession given by the accused, circumstantial evidence and in depth forensic examinations can bring the offender(s) before justice. However, if police show disinclination to register the case; victim can file complaint directly to the magistrate. Further, if the investigating officer becomes bias or does not investigate properly then the complainant has an option to apply to the court for proper investigation of the matter.

Trauma caused by sexual assault and compensation for that is highly neglected in the PC which only penalizes assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty that neither acknowledged the bodily harm of the victim nor the physical or psychological trauma that a victim may go through in consequence of that assault.

It becomes a trend now that the criminal often take photograph or record video of sexual offences and disseminate it in various ways. However, he Bangladesh parliament has legislated the Pornography Control Act in 2012 by which this type of awkward can be tackled effectively. If anybody forces a woman to produce pornography or take photo/record video with or without her consent shall be liable maximum rigorous imprisonment for seven years and fine up to 200,000 taka. In addition, if a person tries to blackmail anyone or damages anyone's social or individual reputation through pornography, s/he shall be punished with the same. Hence, apart from much discussed s. 57 of the Information Communication Act, 2006, a rape victim whose photo was being taken or video recorded can file a separate case under the Pornography Control Act, 2012.

Hence, there is every reason for an overhaul and comprehensive review of rape laws to take place, given the reality in Bangladesh of rape survivors not being able to get redress in these cases.

A shorter version has been published in the Young Observer of the Daily Observer on 1 June 2017

Clouds over Privacy in Virtual World

Online surveillance, interception and collection of personal data have increased vastly in Bangladesh as the user on internet is increased rapidity in last couple of years. Online surveillance means close and continuous observation of a person or group who are under suspicion or the act or observing or the condition of being observed on online and interception means opening electronic transmission before they reach to the intended recipient.

However, the government recently plans to take a variety of projects to tackle growing cyber threats by monitoring people's online and social media activities round-the-clock. Under a project, a centre called Cyber Threat Detection and Response Network will be set up and the government will be able to remove any contents and even block any sites anytime. It will also track people's activities online. Under the system, all international internet gateways will be connected with the network and a team will monitor online activities round-the-clock. The system will also identify the users who use private internet protocol, project documents show. A similar cell named National Telecom Monitoring Cell (NTMC) has been working under the home ministry since February 2014. It conducts interception to help intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the name of state security. New sophisticated equipment used under these projects apparently enables the government to keep watch on internet users 24/7. Thus, it may criminalise online activities and shrink space for intellectual discourse by promoting self-censorship.

Hence internet users will be monitored round-the-clock under the secret internet surveillance technology that has the potential to infiltrate the web and log people's digital footprint on a mass scale. With these types of technologies, the lines between mass surveillance and noble intentions of curbing online radicalisation and reducing cyber crimes can, and most likely will be blurred. People are at risk of being “monitored” through their personal data and internet activity regardless of their intention. In addition, these mechanisms may unreasonably deny citizen’s right and restrict critical thinking, the questioning of the status quo, and take away from individuals one of their most powerful weapons — the right to speak freely without fear. 

Nevertheless, the right to privacy is not an absolute right. Once an individual is under suspicion and subject to formal investigation by intelligence or law enforcement agencies, that individual may be subjected to surveillance for entirely legitimate counter-terrorism and law enforcement purposes. However, there is an urgent need for states to revise national laws regulating modern forms of surveillance and interception to ensure that these practices are consistent with domestic and international human rights law and practices. The absence of clear and up-to-date legislation creates an environment in which arbitrary interferences with the right to privacy can occur without commensurate safeguards. Explicit and detailed laws are essential for ensuring legality and proportionality in this context. State must protect the privacy of its citizens in compatible with Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) and Art. 43 of the Constitution.

However, regarding the right to privacy, the UN General Assembly affirmed that the rights held by people offline must also be sheltered online, and it called upon all States to respect and protect the right to privacy in digital communication. The General Assembly called on all States to review their procedures, practices and legislation related to communications surveillance, interception and collection of personal data and emphasized the need for States to ensure the full and effective implementation of their obligations under international human rights law. Further, we need to expand privacy protections that would protect email and physical location from warrantless searches and to cover buddy lists, drive backups, social networking posts, Web browsing history, medical data, bank records, face prints, voice prints, driving patterns, DNA and more.

Collecting massive amounts of computer-accessible information has become a favourite tool for governments in the war on terrorism and the frightening reality is that snooping on emails, Facebook chats and Viber calls is tremendously easy today. Additionally we must not forget that tech brokers who enable this shadowy practice are part of a booming industry. Internet surveillance is to tech companies what wartime is to arms producers and military service contractors – a propitious time for soaring profits and stock prices. As the relationship between national security and individual liberties becomes murkier, state surveillance, policing, and control gain favour globally.

There have been several attempts to choke free thinking and writing in the cyber sphere. More so because in light of the absence of internet privacy law, the government has enormous power over the use of citizens' personal information and internet activity since nothing demarcates lawful use of user data from its unlawful use. However, a law is needed to ensure safe online environment for people; not to infringe their privacy.

Published in the Law & Our Rights (Weekly Law Supplement) of the Daily Star on April 25, 2017. 

The Dark Surface of Construction

Bangladesh, being a lower middle income country focuses on infrastructure development rapidly now-a-days. However, taking proper precaution in building these projects is crucial to ensure safety for public and workers as well during construction. A worker was killed and two others including an engineer were injured as a 36-metre-long girder weighing about 70 tonnes of the Malibagh-Mouchak-Mogbazar flyover fell on 13 March in Dhaka. Another girder collapsed during installation at the same spot few days before albeit none was hurt at that time. Almost a year ago, 25-year-old construction worker Rabbi Ahmed Emon died due to fall of iron rods from the same flyover on him in the same area. Subsequently, a High Court bench consisted of Justice Obaidul Hasan and Justice Krishna Debnath ordered the authorities concerned to take public safety measures in Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover construction last year. Earlier at least four people died and 15 were injured when a concrete girders of the under-construction flyover at Bahaddarhat in Chittagong collapsed in 2012. 

Recurrence of safety failure resulting death and fatal injury in construction sector indicate the impunity with which the employers tend to evade workplace safety laws while the toiling workmen continue to be deprived of their basic human rights including 'right to life', the number one fundamental human right, in exchange of their job. In addition repeated failure of concerned authority to bring the perpetrators into justice clearly shows their reluctance to prevent these kinds of unfortunate killing. It has been now proved that lives of the workers are cheaper even than their cheap labour.

This kind of killing can be regarded as corporate manslaughter. However, the Penal Code, 1860 and some other special piece of legislations have been enacted for protecting individual right to life and liberty from attack of other individual(s), but there is absence of proper legislation for addressing killing of people for acts of a corporate body. Corporate manslaughter is a crime which enables a corporation to be punished and censured for culpable conduct that leads to a person's death and it extends beyond compensation that might be awarded in civil litigation or any criminal prosecution of an individual for his individual act. The criminal liability of the owners of corporation is direct in such a way that he is the ultimate beneficiary of the corporation; and the ultimate decision makers of a corporation are some individuals and not the corporate personality.

In addition, one can liable the employer for strict liability in this case. In a strict liability case the plaintiff does not have to prove the general contractor or developer was negligent in the construction rather s/he has to prove the defendant was involved in the construction, a defect in the construction exists, damages were proximately caused by the defect, and the defendant caused or created the defect.

The dark surface behind this impunity is that there are no provisions in the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 requiring employers to stop fall from height or stopping electrocution or safe use of trenches etc. However, most of the provisions inserted in this legislation relating to worker health and safety issues are not relevant to the key issues of safety on construction sites.

Nevertheless, the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), 2006 is applicable to construction sites, but even in the Code there are few provisions which deal with the safety of the workmen during construction. Part-7, chapter -1 of the Code clearly sets out the constructional responsibilities according to which the relevant authority of a particular construction site shall adopt some precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the workmen. So, the employer can never escape himself from being responsible in case of any violation of the safety provisions.

Section 1.4.1 of chapter-1, part-7 of the Code, states the general duties of the employer to the public as well as workers. According to this section, “All equipments and safeguards required for the construction work such as temporary stair, ladder, ramp, scaffold, hoist, run way, barricade, chute, lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as not to create any unsafe situation for the workmen using them or the workmen and general public passing under, on or near them”. Therefore, the safety issue of the construction workers during construction is a precondition for the site authority. The site authority or the relevant employer of the workers must provide the construction workers with the safety tools prior to the introduction of the construction or demolition or even in case of handling of materials. However, employers usually want to avoid their liabilities either by claiming that the workers denied to take safety tools and failed to ensure their own safety by themselves or merely naming this as accident.

 Part-7, Chapter-3 of the Code has clarified the issue of safety of workmen during construction and with relation to this, set out the details about the different safety tools (PPE) of specified standard like goggles, gloves, safety boots, apron and hand shield having filter glass of accepted standard and suitable to the eyes of a particular worker. In relation with the health hazards of the workers during construction, this chapter describes the nature of the different health hazards that normally occur in the site during construction and at the same time specifies the specific measures to be taken to prevent such health hazards. According to this chapter, exhaust ventilation, use of protective devices, medical check up etc. are the measures to be taken by the particular employer to ensure a healthy workplace for the workers.

With relation to the safety measures against electrocution and fall from height, two most common causes of workplace fatality, the Code in its section 3.1.3 of chapter 3 of Part 7 has specified that warning signs shall be displayed where necessary to indicate hazardous areas like hi-voltage zone. In addition, according to section 3.9.2 of chapter 3 of part 7, “all cables and signal cords are required to be guarded wherever such cables and cords pass through or cross working spaces.”

Moreover, to prevent workers falling from heights, the Code in section 3.7.1 to 3.7.6 of chapter 3 of part 7 sets out the detailed requirements on the formation and use of scaffolding. According to section 3.9.2 of the same chapter, “every temporary floor openings shall either have railing of at least 900 mm height or shall be constantly attended. Every floor hole shall be guarded by either a railing with toe board or a hinged cover. Alternatively, the hole may be constantly attended or protected by a removable railing. Every stairway floor opening shall be guarded by railing at least 900 mm high on the exposed sides except at entrance to stairway. Every ladder way floor opening or platform shall be guarded by a guard railing with toe board except at entrance to opening. Every open sided floor or platform 1.2 meters or more above adjacent ground level shall be guarded by a railing on all open sides except where there is entrance to ramp, stairway or fixed ladder.

Despite that survey report of the Bangladesh Worker Safety Programme (BWSP) reveals that construction workers make up 50% of workplace victims. Among 222 workplace deaths, 103 were in the construction sector and the most common causes of all deaths were 'electrocution'(54) and 'fall from height'(38) (The Daily Star, November 20, 2008).

However, according to the BNBC the government is obliged to constitute a common building regulatory authority to monitor the whole process all over the country. With relation to the provision of setting up the BNBC Enforcement Authority, the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) jointly filed a writ petition in the High Court Division on January 27, 2008 to redress the failure of the government to establish an agency to enforce the Code in particular the provisions relating to worker safety issues. Unfortunately no such body does exist in the country till today!

Workers' welfare has been guaranteed in the Constitution of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh. Article 14 dictates that “It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to emancipate the toiling masses, the peasants and workers, and backward sections of the people from all forms of exploitation”. Article 15 also mentions the right to guaranteed employment at a reasonable wage and the right to social security. Additionally, the government has already formulated the National Occupational Health and Safety Policy, 2013; furthermore, Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enacted and Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation Rule, 2010 was introduced. Moreover, Bangladesh Labour Rules was also in operation from 2015. The aim of the National Labour Policy of 2012 is to ensure an investment friendly atmosphere by a creating productive, exploitation free, decent, safe, and healthy workplace for active citizens and to establish workers' rights and dignity of work. These legislations and policies are all in place to ensure the rights of workers in Bangladesh. 

Trivial and shamefully inadequate amount of compensation which has been offered to the families of the dead and injured workers after these kinds of incidents exemplifies the disregard and disrespect for construction workers without whose blood the tag of lower middle income country could not have earned. The situation demands that the State as well as other stakeholders must address the rights of workers with seriousness failing which they should all be held accountable for involuntary manslaughter, which is a direct consequence of gross negligence and breaches of workplace safety laws. Accordingly, civil as well as criminal liabilities should be imposed upon them for not exercising due diligence in ensuring workplace safety.

Workers are integral parts of industry and national development. Hence an Employment Injury Insurance (EII) policy must be taken by the government to provide an immediate response in terms of compensating those directly affected by workplace accidents. Without ensuring safety in work place no development would be sustainable and the country will be defeated in achieving its development goal within the time limit.

Published as Opinion Editorial in the Post Louge page of the Daily Sun on 12 April 2017