Enough of your Punk, NOW DAMN YOU IN COURT

Mahzuba Tarzi ।। There is a famous proverb, “The first step to solve any problem is to acknowledge that there is a problem.” In a gender biased society where even kids are taught to act according to their gender can never have a humane generation. To put this into perspective, we, as kids, have been taught more to behave according to our gender instead of being aware of our rights as humans. As a result, men are burdened by responsibilities beyond what they can bear and women are expected to comply with whatever the other gender imposes upon them. Society takes the physical and mental abuse against women as “petty issues”. We do not even acknowledge it as a problem in society let alone finding a solution.

This is a relatable phenomena in our daily life. There is no denying that we live in a society where going through mental and physical abuse in marriage is considered as “Patience”(a form of piety) and divorcing the abuser is termed as “reckless behaviour”. In one way or the other, society expects women to be tolerant of crimes and comply with anything illegal forced upon them. “Time will heal”, “A child would fix everything..”, these are some common advice women receive while suffering the nightmare of a marriage. In a society where surviving a bad marriage is lauded, justice is merely a dream.

But the burning question is, do women even know about their legal rights?

The answer is, no. Even in 2020, women are yet to be aware of their rights. They think that they have fallen into a hellhole and there is no one to listen to them let alone helping them out. Women accept it as their fate. In most of the cases, they fear worse retaliation from the perpetrators. That is how they give up on their dreams to live a happy and peaceful life.

Now, If we really want the criminal offences to be stopped or at least curbed, we need our women to come out fearless in the battle against oppression. And in order to do that, we have to win their trust so that they can rely on the system.

Keeping in mind the BRAC studies, Women and children violence has increased to 70 percent during this lockdown. But the legal response remains insufficient to the assaults and the legal resources seem indocile to the victims.

According to the studies of JSMP in 2016 domestic violence cases are heard by the court on a daily basis. They found  957 cases related to domestic violence and 421 cases were mentioned as gender-based violence.

UN women published a seminar report about ‘Gender Responsive Alternative Dispute Resolution’’ with the description of applying legal procedure which is ADR or in detail ‘’Alternative Dispute Resolution.’’ But people are taking less interest in this process. Although the process of ADR is less time consuming and less costly and speedy in comparison.

There might be many cases taken under this law. Here are the reasons why one should take action against any kind of violence with the help of ADR. The first thing people should know is the definitions of the ADR process.

ADR is a process of a settlement Instead of pursuing a legal action. It’s done to avoid the hassle of litigation and find a mutual consensus between the parties and assure a prompt deliberation or judgment.

There are basically four particular ways to resolve the cases.

First is arbitration. Arbitration is a way to resolve disputes without going to court. The person Arbitrator listens to the both parties and then reaches into an outcome. The arbitrator’s decisions are considered to be final. There’s a way to re appeal in nonbinding arbitration.

Second one is mediation, where two parties decide to appoint a third independent or neutral person for the case resolving. The mediator does not decide the adjunction of the case. It is up to the parties.  But offers a proposal to the both parties. Which is called a ‘mediator proposal’.  But it’s not necessary to agree with the mediator.  One party can propose to another party what compensation could help to resolve the case.

Negotiation is one of the basic systems in the ADR process where the court rushed the two sides to a settlement. They are offered to negotiate the dispute by talking to each other. This process is usually helpful for sensitive cases like among the family members, neighbors, and business partners. But if the other party has the power or control over the others it is not much useful. So, if the negotiation option doesn’t work then the party can go to the court or may take other ways. Like mediation or arbitration.

When the mediation plays a more active role then they are called conciliators. In this step the two parties have to give their grievances in writing and what solutions they or where they want to sign an agreement. Then the conciliator studies the matters and solutions of both parties and provides a conclusive resolution. The parties can sign in the paper if they think they agree with the resolution. If not, then they can go for arbitration.

So how these definitions of ADR process can take place to provide legitimate rights for women, children and any kind of gender based violence or sexual and mental based violence immediately.

-As the rule says, the entire litigation system will raise concerns about their highest level of privacy so there’s no question of publicizing the matter, if the party doesn’t want to. So, there’s no way they are getting into a mess.

-Also, as this process is taking less time to resolve the case. It is not possible that the perpetrator can do something dreadful in the meantime.

-As this process is also under the legal procedure so other party cannot avoid coming at the court. It is mandatory for the defendant to be present at the court in person. Otherwise legal action will be taken against him.

-There’s an option where the court appoints the third person who is considered as a specialist about the dispute matters. So there’s no such point that people drown into biasness.

-The court will be able to file a compensation case. And the plaintiff can apply or re add any further attachment at their convenience.

Let’s face the truth. Still the physical and mental abuse against women is on the rise all over the world. Nothing can stop it until we stop discriminating our kids by gender. The ADR might not be able to provide justice to the major crimes like rape, murder etc. But it definitely sends out a strong message to the world that women have stopped compromising from now on. Now they have learnt to raise voice, get up off their knees and stand face to face with them and say , ‘’DAMN YOU IN COURT’’

 

(The views and opinions expressed by the writers are those of their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Feminist Factor)