Once I read an article by a female barrister entitled "Why Bangladesh drags its feet over CEDAW ratification" that was published in the daily The Independent in two installments on 10.09.97 and 11.09.97 consecutively. The writer's concern over the vulnerable condition of women in Bangladesh in particular and all over the world in general is worth acclaiming. She took notice on a stark reality prevalent in almost every country regarding woman rights. Almost every society or country has some laws and provisions to establish woman rights and to pressure her dignity and proper status as a member of the human family; but in most cases such laws and provisions remain in word and not in effect. Even many Muslim societies fail to give women the unique rights and dignity ensured by Islam and which are present in the texts of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Dealing with CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) in the context of our country, the writer expatiated on her expostulating about the reservations pursued by Bangladesh in accepting the ratification of CEDAW. She termed the government of Bangladesh as 'cowboy' for accommodating such reservations. I differ with her on the ground that to maintain a unique national identity and a distinct position of a country in the international arena is not behaving like a 'cowboy', rather it is a manifestation of the sense of the national identity and dignity of the country concerned. A country is entitled to enjoy every right to preserve her cultural and religious identity while accepting any resolutions promulgated by the UN. And every country in the world has this right and freedom.
We should not forget that unlike OIC, UN is not a forum for the Muslim countries only, but it is an aggregate of 187 countries of different religious and cultural background and of different constitutions and national distinctiveness. Naturally while taking any program, UN takes little concern about Shariah or Islamic law. So every Muslim country is supposed to retain some reservations in accepting any program decreed by the UN with a view to keeping the Islamic law intact. Hence I appreciate such reservations in such cases and I consider it a bold undertaking. There is no reason to relent an Islamic law, as on comprehensive analysis this is a just system.
Another thing we should keep in mind is that CEDAW is to establish the rights and dignity of woman. But the problems of women in our country are not like those in other member countries of the UN. We should form our agenda for our variant situation according to our constitution and religious values. What the west understands by the word 'discrimination' is not the same thing we understand. Moreover, the western concept of equality between men and women, as it is present in the ratification of CEDAW, is in express conflict with the concept of equality in Islam. Allah has made men and women as two distinct species and their duties and responsibilities are also distinct to some extent. In some cases, Islam gives men more duties and in some variant other cases, women have to perform more. In some respects, men enjoy more privileges and vice-versa. It can not be denied that both males and females have some limitations and both are not competent for every job and duty. When both of them pursue their respective duties and are given their due rights, only then justice to both the sexes will be established. On the contrary, if we take the word 'equality' in its literal sense, it will make both the sexes fall into rivalry, which will not bring any good to either of the sexes. Both the sexes should be friendly and help each other to make a better world. So the word equity is more appropriate than equality as far as Islamic position is concerned.
Some articles of CEDAW are in manifest conflict with the Islamic values and Shariah such as the concept of unbridled equality of woman with man in all respect, which is an untenable phenomenon. It is true that man and woman are equal as member of the human society and their dignity are equal; but in their duties and privileges there exist some indispensable discrepancies.
Regarding our constitution, the writer says, "…we don't have any Shariah or religious laws per se in Bangladesh" and "we the people of Bangladesh are the authors of our constitution." This statement is not true. The fact is that though our constitution is not strictly Islamic, Islamic values and sentiment are inherent here in essence. The article 8 of our Constitution says that all action of the state shall be based on faith in Almighty Allah. Moreover, it is incumbent on the government to show true respect to the religious sentiments of the people together with the constitution. In our country, about 90% of the population are Muslims so every program by the government should be taken keeping the desire and aspiration of the majority of the population in mind. On the other hand, if we ourselves are the authors of our constitution, then naturally the question arises is: "what is our identity? Do we have any identity other than Muslim?" So why should we accept the provisions of CEDAW if they are repugnant to Islam? It is completely reasonable that in such cases, to make some reservations with a view to retaining our religious laws intact is praiseworthy. And the Govt. of our country should be careful in accepting any international conventions and our Islamic values and national uniqueness should not be forgotten about.
by Md. Mahmudul Hasan