in Bangladesh a bride's family is often expected to bring a dowry of money or goods to the marriage the practice was outlawed 30 years ago yet it remains widespread especially in rural communities failure to paid the dowry or to pay enough often leads to violence and the deaths of hundreds of women every year I'm Fawzia Ibrahim on this edition of 101's we ask what's being done to protect women in Bangladesh from dowry related violence those taking or demanding a dowry in Bangladesh face imprisonment a fine or both yet the practice continues with some women beaten or killed if their dowry is seen as inadequate filmmakers James Liang and Lindley report a very big Robin it was an arranged marriage La Silla Dunamis when we heard that the boy was doctor and very pious we agreed to marry her to this family she had no choice she left everything to us Rahan are a huck and her husband wanted nothing but the best for their daughter tamanna she was a doctor highly educated and ambitious they believe she would be happy with [ __ ] well Islam also a doctor and the son of a wealthy family but the union was a stormy one via boomers for a console she conceived her child after being married for two months for the first six months of her pregnancy they gave her trouble they did not beat her but they verbally abused her asking about dowry and then tragedy on the 28th August 2009 Tom Ana's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her bedroom she was just 28 years old and had been married for less than two and a half years a coroner has ruled the death a suicide but Ryan believes tamanna' was murdered because she couldn't provide her husband with a big enough dowry I am sure he should see someone make a miracle oh I'm sure that my daughter was killed they had given her death threats before my daughter suffered a lot of physical and mental abuse from that family to try to best to stay with them because of her son I don't believe she could have committed suicide and left her son alone [ __ ] well Islam has disappeared his family declined our request for an interview the sole witness to Tom Ana's death her son Tom Eid just two and a half years old he's too young to understand let alone give credible evidence it's unclear if the truth will ever emerge the case has attracted intense media attention allegations of dowry related violence casting the spotlight on an ugly truth in Bangladeshi society took a prototype named Nobita from Chiba she the tradition of dari is found mostly in the lower class the middle class also has dari but it's in the form of gift-giving middle-class families educated girls are also abused for door under the dowry prohibition act of Bangladesh it is illegal to either give or receive a dowry and there are separate legislation criminalizing dowry related violence yet the practice continues people also look for upward mobility the amount of dowry will bring a bridegroom form from a better family better economic conditions family and also they think if they have half will pay half then the bridegroom will start a family business or something like that and the daughter will be happily ever after but not all marriages are a success human rights NGO or Dhaka estimates that in 2009 some 196 women died in dowry disputes so there are two laws I want them there are several reasons why these are not effective in combating this violence and number one is the lack of implementation of these laws the problem is most acute in rural Bangladesh here ignorant and a lack of access to justice mean that numerous cases go unreported the law is made in a way that a victim has to complain directly but most of the victims may not know or most of the victims may not be able to do that activists like Dolan Mustafa Rubel hope to change things a journalism student he volunteers for the NGO or Deker seeking out and offering support to victims and their families I help underprivileged women to get legal aid those who are being abused in society we bring them under otakus activities and we help them to get legal we continuously provide this service today he's investigating yet another challenging case for us to look to and his wife luthfi cotton lost their daughter Mukti in 2008 they're convinced she was a victim of dowry violence her husband Hanan in his sister were asking for money and abused my daughter they wanted a share of our land and our business the looked our runs a small weaving business he's not rich by any stretch of the imagination but he says he was able to provide Mukti with a dowry of about seven hundred and twenty US dollars and then her in-laws started asking for more now what is he my predecessor ask for a share of my property he thought that he could get more from us very big person you didn't he tortured her a lot and then killed her I want proper justice this is my request they should hang mocked his husband Hannon Mondale has run away some of his relatives [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] an early police report revealed that mukti had scars and bruises on her body there was also blood in her nose behind her ears and in her throat but the subsequent investigation was played with problems it took months before an autopsy was finally carried out in Dhaka the conclusion stands in stark contrasts the police's initial findings coroner's say mukti died of cardio respiratory failure due to a disease the finding is a setback for to look tar but he is pressing on but a father that what are you all right here well there's no Pinal mr. after I got the final report I brought the case to the district court but they rejected it after that I took the case to the High Court the high colonists admitted the case they're a hundred person navigating Bangladesh's legal system has been a long frustrating process for the Lakhdar Bell accompanies him to the District Public Prosecutor's Office hoping to expedite things the reality is there's little more to look talk and do but wait courts in Bangladesh are often seen as inefficient because of shortage of manpower in the court because of a number of cases backlog of cases it's not always possible to maintain the schedule so it gets lingered small wonder then that numerous families of alleged victims eventually give up taluka says he's not backing down but chances are it will be years before he finally has his day in court bangladesh is inefficient legal system is just one of the many obstacles preventing victims and their families from pursuing justice after the break we examined traditional notions of marriage in the country and see just how social pressure can sometimes lead to tragedy stay with 101 East welcome back to 101 East this week we're looking at dowry related violence in Bangladesh which can take many forms he is more from James Liang and Lindley Aki Akhtar rarely leaves her house these days she's too scared and too ashamed to show her face or let us identify her by her real name her story is a horrific one cigarette on bottom Thomas Rooney baby see he bit my body with cigarettes if you don't give me the dowry money I would kill you he said I was very afraid so I came back home after I came back home he came to touch a meal and he threw acid on me because I didn't go back to anything Aki's husband is now in prison pending a trial but these angry scars continue to remind her of his wrath it's a common revenge tactic in Bangladesh for just a few cents an attacker can buy enough acid to disfigure a person for life [Music] instead of beautiful I didn't believe that he would throw acid on me Aki's mother blames herself for her daughter's plight I made a big mistake I made a wrong decision and married her off when she was so young my daughter is a beautiful girl any man would have chosen to marry her now I have become her enemy because I have ruined her life outside the house a crowd of nosy onlookers this is a small community and a conservative one Ackley has divorced her husband and is now the subject of much gossip the sense of shame why she divorced she was doing something wrong it's always put the blame is always put on the woman victims of dairy violence often come under intense pressure not to press charges Aki's husband had an accomplice and her family have been asked to settle with him the villagers said he is a neighbor so he should withdraw his name from the case because I have to live in this village I listened to them instead of leading out of court as for her husband Aki says she will never forgive him neither will she ever marry again destroyed my life do you think I can get married my whole body is covered with acid burn scars I don't want to get married again sociology professor maboob and Nasrin says women like aki are rare in bangladesh in our culture that single women concept is not that much popular you will not find a women throughout their life they are dependent on father then their husband and then their sons no case illustrates this dependency more clearly than that of Tesla more begum we meet her by chance at the public prosecutor's office at a district court [Music] [Music] [Music] this isn't the first time Taslima has been to see the public prosecutor she's been married for ten years and says her husband beats her regularly like a Keys husband he's now in jail pending an investigation I came to tell the court that my husband and his family have tortured me I came here for justice I came to let society know about my plight I came here to find out how to punish them but toss Leamas father has other ideas she's been living with her parents for eight months now he says he can't afford to feed his daughter or her two young children I've gone to a lot of people because I'm helpless I asked them to help us negotiate with our in-laws so they would take her back there is nothing more I can do I only have one cow to depend on to feed my family trapped in a difficult situation Taslima has two young children and no means to support them on her own her parents don't want her but she is too scared to go back to her in-laws it's an all too common scenario so again this is set elated to their economic dependence their social dependence their identity with the husband's family and their lower status there is no single Institute which can guarantee her as an independent life economic Kellis or event life on a secure life that's why most of them have to go back if she is the party to the divorce then she leaves her husband's house with nothing so there's there's a crux in that matter so it's better for her to go back to her in-laws house and occasionally when her husband beats her up to come to father's house for a few days and then go back and you know backwards and forwards Taslima has been doing exactly that for nearly a decade she went to the district court hoping to put an end to her misery but her future will be decided here in this meeting room instead her father has caught on some community leaders to mediate the settlement well they were horrible our behavior we couldn't ever the same after when Thomas hergenrother second party did there our calendar memory back to rehearsal is tomorrow Helena - I said helper amazonian right there [Music] we survived and I'm actually little maggot that our mother one of the Decker muta Miroku look diagonally meet economic person portable Tony meet dr. Brewster carbon tail bathtub and Segway I do not employ an immoral didn't shower Abdi Carol I see more tale akiva more intern llama might come to Eddie come chemical average a I'm gonna go to enforce our medical nervous Kayla on open on my own arbitrate owner is not resolved okay chefs Commission languages and they sense that one group of people a debate follows remarkably no one disputes Tazz Leamas claims that her husband tortured her it soon becomes clear she's the victim of severe abuse for reasons that extend beyond money issues holiday favorites from very muda muda in Anna tubular reactor we're gong to over and you need a China it's under Tiki super Romeo knife long enough I see the only like killers you cannot kill again hey hey am I correct monogamy hey I mean I go to dinner I'm a colleague dude there's one issue though that the arbitrator's refused to touch on the saga which are the response is perhaps understandable there is no specific legislation dealing with domestic abuse in Bangladesh but everyone knows dowry related offenses are illegal Barbara Marcia had visited in gentle bumble humble bundle I did a kasama the oven on the ruler I'm ready first responder away made a banana to report a fast garage inequity Jolla to do for Joanne Matamata prison motto motto motto German jonov Abdulhadi media are doodle area when Muhammad Ali attitude on to freedom to do assalaam-u-alaikum the meeting concludes without a resolution as edemas mother-in-law arrives at the end and attempts a reconciliation it is clear as Lima doesn't want to go back to her in-laws but the decision isn't hers to make her fate like so many Bangladeshi women is out of her hands and that's all the time we have for this edition of one on one thanks for watching you