Should think Alternative way to avoid communal violence against Indigenous Women at Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

“The strong do what they have to do and the weak suffer what they must have to suffer”. At Chittagong hill tracts the situation goes along with the earlier sentence. Rape incidents or other sexual assaults of our indigenous girls have been an alarming and continuous subject during these years. While talking about sexual violence most of the people won’t want to relate this with communal conflicts. But these vicious facts or incidents are one sort of tool or weapon of domination and oppression to abate the minority ethnic people at CHT. Indigenous girls have to be always apprehensive for being faced these kinds of incidents. We can’t get rid of these entirely. But changing fewer obsessions of our community people’s mind would help to get rid of these hostile conditions. From my point of view we have to avoid communal argues in a very tricky way to get justice. Teaching the girls to be self-confident and to speak up and defensible when they face those things, stimulating our people to raise their voice hopefully these essentials can bring slight changes of those evil circumstances. Couple of obsessions and delusions existed in our mind which should be changed. The mind of majority community is set on a particular way that we are subordinate and weak. Though we are in minority but we should not consider ourselves as substandard. It’s similar as to accept that you are defeated before entering to battle field. While sexual violence happens to our girls we should not consider this only an expression of domination. We should also consider that CHT is also now a constant state of chaos. The specific perceptions about the minority groups force them to participate in these hostile activities but some of us just stay quiet in fear of starting new risk “Communal Violence”. Although we cannot often avoid communal aggression but it should be acknowledged by captivating some steps we at least can try to avoid in these cases so that both groups of people will feel comfortable. We should be aware of certain facts such as these incidents are not done by the all people from the majority group and we should specify the person to demand justice. It should be remembered that there have supporters from their community, who also take part with us to gain the justice according to demands. When these types of incidents occur we should not lead these to communal argues; such as we should not art banners stating controversial sentences or offensive languages opposing to the majority group. Which can provoke them for communal aggression and they can reciprocate us in an aggressive way. Although it seems unattainable to demand justice if we raise the issue of individual community, but we can lead the fact into human rights issue or gender based violence. As there exist a lots of organizations which are working for the victims due to the demand of sexual assaults and we can also demand justice through these organizations by elaborating the issues to them. We should not equate the sexual violence with the communal violence; we have to be tactful because we know administration sector is quite dogmatic in Bangladesh. The fact is we are the needed person and we should endeavor to demand justice not by acting impulsive. The stereotypes about the majority people among us should be reconsidered in these cases because some of them also support us. We should turn the case into gender based violence and try to demand justice by ignoring the communal argues as much as possible. To achieve education, to gain experiences for livelihood, to support the families, to be self –sustaining and, for being an earned person in the community; we, indigenous girls, are now staying away from our own places. The indigenous girls should be praised for being vigorous, self confident. However, some people won’t be compatible with me, but there have some reasonable facts to refute them. We have to deal with two facts; one is indigenous and other is as a girl. Indigenous girls are considered as exotic for the people from majority group and they feel a unique attraction toward us. And it’s true that, some of our indigenous girls also act like impulsive by their gesture and affluent lifestyle. But we should be aware of those brutal facts which will ruin our whole life for sudden infatuation. We have to stay with them as a friend, as student or as a colleague. Often their persuasive behaviors led the indigenous girls to be deceived by the certain people from majority group. Sometimes it’s our own fault to be a victim of sexual assaults but not all the time. Because they try to find out a opportunity to deceive the indigenous girls .These don’t happen only at educational institutions but also in working place even in own residence. As the indigenous girls we, shouldn't forget our family, our community and our own culture when we are far away from our beloved families. These conditions won’t be acceptable by our community when we bring danger ourselves and victimized by own desire. It’s the fact that, where people from our minority groups never feel safe due to the constant conditions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts; we, indigenous girls, also go through unsecured feelings. I know the indigenous organizations have several steps to prevent the indigenous girls from being converted to another religion. But sometimes people should know that indigenous girls don’t have any fault when we are victimized; as we have gone through several rape and murder cases during recent years at Chittagong Hill Tracts. The innocent girls didn't even realize what’s going to happen with them, because these incidents occur unexpectedly. However, these sudden unexpected situations are often unavoidable but the parents or the families should teach some basic things to their female child to aware of these terrible incidents. Often girls become astonished and frightened when they fall in harassment. Harassment s are also happening even from our own community’s boys. Our indigenous boys also should have some knowledge about harassment; because, bullying is included in harassment which can effect mentally. There should be arranged some seminars considering to age limitation where girls, boys and their parents can join to discuss about these things and let them to know how to prevent and how to act when they face sexual assaults. Some people will affirm these seminars will be meaningless and we can’t stop these because all are happening with us in a chronological way. Might be some will feel irrational and irrelevant above passage considering hill tracts condition. But the particular group mainly focuses to attack on those indigenous girls who seems innocent and weak. Though some people will oppose those situations, simultaneously some will agree. But we have to share with our parents or with our family members when our sixth sense aware about something wrong with any particular person. Even though, considering hill tracts condition and constant perception of the some particular people from the majority group, all these suggestions become worthless. Although, we cannot avoid some of these brutal facts which are unpredictable; however, we girls should know some self defense or sense when we are faced sexual assaults are whether it comes from any male(Majority group or Our own community). While sexual violence happens with our indigenous girls, the fear goes through not only the victimized family but also among the whole community people. Yes, we protest but how many of us participate? It has been observed only some student organizations are protesting and demanding the justice. Protesting does not follow the act of fighting with sort of weapons; there exist other sorts of protesting which will follow peacefully. As our media also dogmatic type, they don’t want to cover the issues nationally. However, we have also some strong and youthful protestors who try to make people to know about the issues nationally and internationally through international or social Medias. Some of the participants are from the majority group too, though the number is tiny. On 19th October, 2012 there had published a report about 3 sexual violence cases at Chittagong Hill Tracts in Asian Human Rights Commission’s online site, “The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two young women have been raped and one girl narrowly has avoided an attempted rape due to her neighbors’ assistance in three separate jurisdictions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. The police have allegedly been biased against the non-ethnic settlers instead of working professionally to uphold the law and investigating the cases credibly. In one of the rape cases, the police did not register a formal complaint as the alleged perpetrator is an influential political leader in the area. The victim's right to have a credible medical examination has also been denied by the police” (Asian Human Rights Commission). We have to stimulate our people’s perception about raising the voice ignoring the fear of rising “Communal Violence”. These incidents are not sudden; they are now happening in a chronological way. We all should try to raise the voice individually but in a tactful way because our offensive behavior can smash our all efforts. Raising the voice doesn’t mean acting in a rude way. We can have some conferences or discussions following these issues. In the conferences there might not come out the solutions but it can be an example of our unity where all the members from our individual minority groups can discuss the problems. Here we can invite some respectable guests or human rights activists who can motivate us by their valuable speeches. We shouldn't step behind due to our limitations or less political and economical power. Because sometimes we can use our limitation or weakness as our power and weapon. Yes, we can also get justice, if it’s not possible by nationally, some of us should inform to International Human Rights activists because Chittagong Hill Tracts issue is well known facts of brutality. Media censorship is increasing in CHT years after years this had been going on and the victim of the sexual assaults are increasing but my question is do anyone outside this country or outside that area know about it? There are a lot hidden stories about our indigenous girls which are still remaining untold and unpublished by any news media. We the minority groups in CHT are lacking in a lot of things first of all we have no unity, lack of knowledge and even the educational background are very poor. Cases after cases are going on and day by day people are getting hurt but no justice. Whenever any problem come up most people from other minority group thinks it’s not from their own community. My question is we all want the same thing but why we can’t fight together to achieve it.

Reference: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-187-2012