How to solve a stinking problem

The video a loved one sent me to cheer me up certainly did the trick. It was a very well edited documentary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs about a unique move to solve the problem of men using the walls of the city as public toilets. The film showed how despite explicit written prohibitions in Bangla regarding this on the walls, men of all ages and backgrounds did what they had to do. So the Ministry decided to try a novel method – they wrote the same message in Arabic, which most people consider more sacred than any other language, even if they don't know what the words say. Miracle of miracles! As soon as they saw the Arabic script, those who had squatted without thinking, quickly got up and left. The film showed some men showing obvious remorse by holding their ears while others actually touched the wall and then their foreheads in reverence. The Minister said with confidence that he was quite certain that he had found the solution to this indiscriminate defiling of public places and soon he would make this a hundred percent success story.

My initial reaction was of applauding the Ministry for such an ingenious idea. That's how to get people to follow the rules – by duping them into believing they were defiling something sacred. But the documentary revealed some disturbing facts: Most of these men were either illiterate or just didn't care about the Bangla writing on the wall. Instead of building more public toilets, the more logical answer - we have 45 under the Dhaka South City Corporation and 25 under the Dhaka North City Corporation, most of them unusable - the authorities are relying on people's blind faith in Arabic script. And what about women, who no matter how full their bladders, have managed to hold it all these years till they get home or to a relative/friend's place? Do they not deserve public toilets for women only all over the city?

It's true, we are getting more eccentric as we age. But that should be applicable for human beings, not a nation's governance. It is rather quirky that in order to reduce the number of child marriages in the country, instead of enforcing the original anti-child marriage act, the powers that be are thinking about lowering the legal marriageable age of females to 16 from 18. So a 16-year-old is no longer a child, but a grown up woman who is ready to take on the responsibility and physical burden of child bearing, child rearing, household tasks and taking care of the in-laws.

Hence, while we are thinking of this 'ingenious' way to reduce the official number of child marriages, we are not lifting a finger to enforce the anti-dowry law, laws to prevent and punish violence against women including sexual assault and harassment. We are also not bothered about illegal fatwa being imposed on women which have often led to their deaths. Is the said Ministry that is so diligently trying to solve the public urination problem at all concerned by this?

It is clear from the documentary mentioned above that religion has a far more powerful hold over people than civic sense or even a basic sense of decency. If that is true then religious leaders have the responsibility and potential to inculcate good values in people. They have the moral authority to tell men not to sexually harass women, that rape is a grave sin, that they cannot ask for dowry, least of all torture their wives for it and that they must respect and protect their womenfolk instead of physically attacking them.

Unfortunately there are few religious clerics who bother to talk about these issues.

As for using Arabic script to prevent men from relieving themselves in public places, this can only work for a short while. Soon enough people will know they have been duped and will just scrape off the writing (which they have in some places) and go about their business. 

And what about all the garbage dumps, official and unofficial, which are also used as public toilets? Obviously using sacred script will not be applicable. 
 

The writer is Deputy Editor, Op-Ed and Editorial, The Daily Star.