The High Court has sought relevant documents from the government to determine BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's "genuine" date of birth.

In response to a writ petition, the court asked the authorities concerned of the government to provide the record regarding her date of birth in 60 days.

The HC also issued a rule asking the respondents to show causes why their inaction to prosecute Khaleda Zia under relevant law for celebrating her birthday on different dates deliberately to malign and undermine the solemnity of National Mourning Day on August 15 should not be declared illegal.

Secretaries to the ministries of home affairs and health and family planning, inspector general of police, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station have made respondents to the rule.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir came up with the order and rule after holding hearing on a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Mamun Or Rashid, challenging the legality of celebrating birthday by Khaleda Zia on August 15.

The petitioner said that it is a matter of great distress for the nation that Khaleda Zia has mentioned and used her date of birth on August 15, 1946 in the current passport with an ulterior motive -- to malign the National Mourning Day when the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally killed with his family members in 1975.

Also, Khaleda Zia's date of birth is September 5, 1946 according to her SSC certificate; August 4, 1944 according to her marriage registration certificate; August 5, 1946 according to her machine-readable passport; and May 8, 1946 according to her Covid-19 test report, the petitioner said in the petition.

BNP's Joint Secretary General and former Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon opposed the petition, saying that the writ petitioner has been filed in order to achieve political gains.

Thousands of people including Khaleda Zia were born on August 15, he said, adding it is not the work of the HC to deal with such a matter involving a birthday.

The High Court today expressed grave dissatisfaction as neither the investigation officers nor the Cyber Tribunal gave any explanation to it over the delay in concluding investigation into two cases filed against photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol under the Digital Security Act.

The court sought the explanation three weeks back.

None of the investigation officers or the Cyber Tribunal has submitted any report to this court on whether the investigation officer has taken permission from the Cyber Tribunal to probe the cases 75 days after filing those, which is very "unfortunate", the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman noted.

Justice Enayetur Rahim said the investigation officers were asked to appear before the bench again with the explanation today (Tuesday).

But, the IOs did not appear, nor submitted the explanation before the court, the judge said during hearing two bail petitions filed by accused Kajol in connection with the cases.

The HC bench asked the IOs to appear before it on Thursday to give the explanation.

It also fixed Thursday for hearing the bail petitions and asked Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappi to communicate to the IOs so that they appear before the court on that day.

Lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua appeared for photojournalist Kajol during virtual hearing on the bail petitions today. 

On November 24, the same HC bench granted bail to Kajol in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.

However, Kajol could not be released from jail following the verdict as he is arrested in two other cases.

The same day, the bench also asked the investigation officers of the cases lodged against Kajol with Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar police stations whether he has taken permission from the Cyber Tribunal to probe the cases after 75 days of filing the cases.

The investigation officers and the Cyber Tribunal have been ordered to submit separate reports to the HC by December 15 (Tuesday).

Two other cases under the Digital Security Act were filed against Kajol on March 10 and 11 with Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar police stations.

The High Court today (July 19, 2022) directed the trustee board formed under the Road Transport Act, 2018, to give Tk 5 lakh – in 15 days – for the baby born during a road accident on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway on July 16.

In response to a writ petition, the court also ordered the social welfare secretary to form a committee in order to take care of the child.

The committee has been asked to submit a report on the steps to be taken for the baby's welfare in three months.

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A tragic miracle: Woman gives birth before breathing her last in road accident

The court also said the treatment of the baby girl must be continued.

The bench of Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury and Justice Md Zakir Hossain delivered the directive following a writ petition that sought its directive on the government to pay compensation for and ensure wellbeing of the baby.

In the accident, the newborn's father Jahangir Alam (42), mother Ratna Akter (26) and elder sister Jannat Ara died near court building area in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh.

Ratna gave birth to the baby on July 16 before succumbing to her injuries after a truck ran her over while she was crossing a road. The newborn, however, survived miraculously.

Yesterday, Kaniz Fatima Tunazzia, a lawyer, submitted the petition as a public interest litigation requesting the HC to order the government for compensating the victim.

When the Democratic Party came into power in early 2021 after the last US elections, feminists and human rights activists all around the world followed the countdown till the very last minutes, anticipating what changes could occur next. Not surprisingly, very early on in his role as President, Biden rescinded the "Global Gag Rule" – a devastating anti-abortion policy that undermined the health and rights of women around the world. The rule had denied funding for foreign organisations and NGOS/INGOs providing abortion information or services. It also meant that development organisations using funding from USAID would no longer be able to carry out abortion-related work, even with funding from other donors, if they wanted to continue receiving funding from the US. The withdrawal of the Global Gag Rule was a light of hope for civil society organisations around the world.

In 2021 alone, the United States provided over USD 96 million to support the Covid response in Bangladesh. While the US has helped fund "public health" in Bangladesh for the last five decades, abortion rights have not fallen under this. And now the overturning of Roe v Wade has taken us backwards, not just in the US but around the world, and curtailed the progress that had been made on women's rights and abortion access globally.

You might think the overturning of Roe v Wade has not made much difference in the context of Bangladesh, but a deep dive into the matter tells us differently. At a recent round-table, Marcia Soumokil, the Indonesia country director at Ipas, an international NGO that works to increase access to safe abortions and contraception, said, "The overturning of Roe v Wade could affect broader legislation across the world as well. When access to abortion is severely restricted in the US, it will send signals to the rest of the world governments, in Indonesia and other countries, that abortion rights are not part of human rights."

"Conservative factions in society and government will interpret this change as a declaration that government does not oblige to protect abortion rights," she added. And so, in the current situation, not only will funding opportunities for abortion rights from the US become a diminishing possibility, stigma and barriers to safe abortion access will also be aggravated worldwide.

Under Bangladesh's penal code of 1860, induced abortion is illegal except to save a woman' life. Menstrual regulation (MR), however, has been part of Bangladesh's national family planning program since 1979. Despite the availability of MR services, many women resort to underground (and unsafe) abortions because of stigma and lack of availability of information/resources. According to the Center for Health and Population Research at ICDDR,B, the incidence of abortion was 35 times higher for unmarried women in Bangladesh than for married adolescents. Additionally, there is a huge data gap, especially with regard to younger women getting abortions, so how big a problem access to safe abortion is remains largely underrepresented.

In 2020, a high court ruling asked why the abortion related sections in the Penal Code of Bangladesh should not be declared void as it is contradictory with the fundamental rights guaranteed in Bangladesh's Constitution. At present, if rape victims become pregnant, they are unable to abort the unwanted foetus, and since 2020, things have not moved in this regard.

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Is violence against women only a women’s issue?

Although we tend to focus on the positives, like our achievements in bringing down fertility rates and maternal mortality, the fact remains that due to a number of circumstances, women will get abortions. And unsafe routes to abortion results in several complex problems, including endangering the life of both the woman and the child, suicide, and negative impacts on mental health.

Needless to say, marginalised groups such as young women, rural women, women with disabilities and queer people are doubly and triply affected by such issues. To say that Roe v Wade does not affect us is simply untrue. Asking "if we have the option of MR, why do we need abortion rights?" may help us escape from reality for a while, but it will not help strengthen the fight for reproductive health and justice in the long run. We must fight head on – socially, legally and individually to get past the stigma and oppression that limit women's bodily autonomy, agency and rights, and we must hold decision-makers accountable. As feminists and activists, we should bring back the movement of "My body, my rights," and use data-driven advocacy to do so.

Syeda Samara Mortada is a feminist activist, working as a Coordinator in Bonhishkha, an organisation working to remove gender-based stereotypes.