Naked humiliation of a female in Bangladesh

by News Desk
September 15, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1801/naked-humiliation-of-a-female-in-bangladesh

Her name is Samira Kaizer, hailing from an affluent family in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, with sound educational background and capability of speaking multiple languages. Fun-loving Samira used to roam around various places in the city, during her leisure time, with friends and buddies. She was a regular visitor at Dhaka's Westin Hotel, Radisson Hotel, Sonargaon Pan Pacific Hotel and other top graded clubs and restaurants. In professional life, Samira takes care of her family business as well as works as even manager of various parties organized in the city. Her name is well-known to most of the leading corporate houses as well as in the diplomatic circle.

Recently Samira's name prominently came [along with her photograph] as lead news in one of the vernacular dailies in the country. The daily newspaper tried its best to label her as a "whore". After investigating the over-enthusiasm of the newspaper in publicly maligning Samira Kaizer, series of worrisome information of police collaborated media terror on civilians was clearly exposed.

It has been learnt that, several high-ranking and mid-ranking police officers are regularly visiting various clubs and posh hotels in the city. In most cases, these officers demand food and alcoholic beverage at no charge. This is not only in case of clubs and posh hotels. Large sections of police officers regularly visit the restaurants and fast food shops in their respective jurisdictions and demand food without pay. Some officers even go with the whole bunch of their family members. Restaurant owners are rather made captive in the hands of the police officers, because rejecting free food would surely welcome "dire consequences" for the owners, as Bangladeshi police is infamous enough of putting innocent people into severe legal harassments.

In Samira's case, the members of Bangladeshi law enforcing agencies not only tried to defame a female belonging to a posh family in the society, it also tried to harass the Thai Recreation Club, which is located at Dhaka's posh Gulshan area. On September 9, 2011, a group of people belonging to the Narcotics Department suddenly raided the club, which is one of the recreation centers of the foreigners and foreign investors in Bangladesh, and in the name of raid, looted cash and valuables as well as sexually and otherwise humiliated a number of females attending the Disco Jockie [DJ] party in the club. Earlier on July 29, 2011 the same department of Bangladesh government raided Korean International Club, which is operated exclusively by the Korean nationals and entrepreneurs residing in Bangladesh and arrested a number of people including a South Korean national. That raid already generated tremendous anger in the minds of the South Korean investors in Dhaka. Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to visibly sweat tackling the annoyed foreign investors following that incident. And, just in less than one of that incident of raiding the Korean International Club, "enthusiastic" officers of narcotics department now raided another international center –Thai Recreation Club in Dhaka.

On condition of anonymity several foreign national in Dhaka expressed their anger over such actions of the Bangladeshi authorities on recreation centers of the foreign nationals. "We have no place to go in Dhaka city. This is one of the rarest Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia or Iran, which does not allow bars and pubs everywhere. Muslim countries like Malaysia or Indonesia even allow bars and pubs freely. But, Bangladesh is more rigid than Iran. If such situation will prevail, why foreign investors will come to invest in this country," they questioned.

It is learnt from dependable sources that a number of ex-Jamaat cadres have been placed in important posts in the narcotics department in Bangladesh, who are playing over-enthusiastic role in harassing the recreation clubs of the foreigners.

On the other hand, it is also learnt that, some high and mid ranking police officers and officers of narcotics department, being unable to enter those foreign recreation centers to "dance" or "consume alcoholic beverage" are using their official positions in continuously harassing the foreign nations at those recreation centers. Recent raids at Korean International Club and Thai Recreation Club will definitely leave negative impact on the current government. Some even believe that, such raids and publication of extremely provocative and defamatory news about these clubs and individuals like Samira would ultimately compel the foreign investors to wrap-up investments from Bangladesh. It may also be mentioned here that, harassing these foreign recreation clubs will also hamper Bangladesh's export of textile products abroad as many of the foreign buyers spend their leisure evenings in these clubs.

Questioning the reason behind such sudden offensives on foreign recreation clubs, locals said, "Why the current government wants to behave like Sharia regimes? In Bangladesh, there are clearly very discriminatory laws for the civilians and army officers. If every member of Bangladesh Armed Forces is allowed to consume alcoholic beverage in Rawa Club, Golf Club etc or the ex-cadets even allowed to consume alcoholic beverage at Cadet Clubs in the country, why civilians are stopped from enjoying the same privilege? Why a country will have two different laws for the citizen? If the members of Bangladesh Armed Forces or those ex-cadets can consume alcoholic beverages in their own clubs, citizen of the country should also be allowed to enjoy the same privilege. The government must not behave either like a military or a Sharia regime."

Commenting on front-page commentary published about Samira Kaizer with her photograph, media personnel as well as legal experts in Dhaka said, "this is clearly is an attempt of maligning image of any individual. The newspaper has no right to give 'bad name' to anyone, unless the matter is proved in the courts of law. The way that newspaper labeled Samira Kaizer as a "whore" and "pimp" is surely punishable offense under the existing laws of the land. Samira has every right now to lodge defamatory suite as well as criminal case under the existing Women and Children Repression Act of Bangladesh against that newspaper against such yellow journalism.

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