The recent incident of a 20-year-old mother being beaten to death by her husband in Gobindaganj for giving birth to a dark-skinned girl child is a reflection of the sick mindset that prevails in our society when it comes to gender and skin complexion.
Although in this particular case, the 30-year-old husband Al Amin is one individual, he cannot be treated as an isolated case. If proven guilty, he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, but this sordid crime also needs to be taken as an alarming sign that discriminatory attitudes are alive and well in our society.
Sexism and shadeism (discrimination based on skin colour) continues to thrive, particularly in areas with little education. Because of social pressures to have male children or fair-skinned children, our society breeds violent, angry men who do not learn to respect the rights of people.
Much progress remains to be made to change this mindset. It is shocking that while our country claims to have moved forward, a girl child or a dark child is still considered undesirable. Along with the fight for gender equality, we must fight to change these skewed ideals of gender or physical beauty.
Because of these prejudices in our society, men like the one in this case feel a misguided sense of justification for their violent actions.
Discrimination is never acceptable in any form. Rooting out harmful attitudes is a good in itself and especially so when it is a factor that causes violence and murder.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
