Char Maguirhat Uttar Para is a village
of Chikajani union under Dewangonj
upazilla of Jamalpur district. Suruzzaman is a hard-core poor inhabitant of
this village. He lives here with his two sons and two daughters. He has no land
of his own except the homestead. His family lives hand to mouth. His eldest
daughter Sufia got married to Md. Amir Hossain, son of Banu Miah from
Hatibhanga union under the same upazilla. Suruzzaman was supposed to pay a
dowry of 8,000/- Tk. But due to his financial difficulties, he failed to pay
the amount during her wedding day. As a result, after her marriage, Sufia
frequently became a victim of assault from her husband and the members of his
family. She was sent to her father's place to bring the dowry but she returned
empty-handed. So, she was assaulted again. Finding no other alternatives, she
fled to her father's house. There she lived a lonely and miserable life.
In the meantime, SDF's partner organization - Dhaka Ahsania
Mission arranged a legal clinic in Sufia's village, conducted by the
Jamalpur
Judge Court, on July 2, 2005. There, hearing the incidents happened to
Sufia, the advocate suggested her to send an advocate notice to her husband's
family and to minimize the problem with the help of VDC and local elites. In
case of failing to solve the problem in this manner, he recommended her to file
case against her husband and his family with the assistance of SDF and Dhaka
Ahsania Mission. However, Sufia's husband came to know about the assistance of
Dhaka Ahsania Mission and SDF and went to the VDC with a view to compromise and
to take his wife back. The VDC members discussed the whole matter with Sufia's
father and came up with an amicable solution. Today Sufia is leading a happy
life with her husband.
