applicability of kingdon’s multiple streams model:case study of fatwa violence against women in...

Running head: KINGDON’S MS MODEL IN CASE STUDY OF FATWA VIOLENCE 1

Applicability of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model:

Case Study of Fatwa Violence against Women in Bangladesh

Farzana Sharmin

Missouri State University

KINGDON’S MS MODEL IN CASE STUDY OF FATWA VIOLENCE 2

Table of Contents

Abstract 3

Applicability of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model: Case Study of Fatwa Violence Against

Women in Bangladesh 4-29

Background Topic 5-11

Defining Fatwa 6

Fatwa’ Violence against Women in Bangladesh: Basic Premises………………………6

Synopsis of Anti-fatwa Policies and Rulings………………………………………….6-8

Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework: Theoretical Perspective…………………..8-10

Research Question……………………………………………………………………..10

Rationale of Choosing Multiple Stream Framework to Explain Selected Case Study…11

Applicability of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model in the Selected Case Study………11-21

Problem Stream in Selected Case Study……………………………………………11-14

Policy Stream in Selected Case Study……………………………………………….14-15

Politics Stream in Selected Case Study…………………………………………….15-18

Policy Window in Selected Case Study…………………………………………….18-20

Role of Policy Entrepreneurs in Selected Case Study……………………………….20-21

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………22-23

References…………………………………………………………………………………24-29


Abstract

This paper is an effort of connecting a theory of policy framework ‘Kingdon’s Multiple Streams

Model’ to a real world scenario, which is fatwa violence against women in Bangladesh. The

patriarchal and parochial social structure of Bangladesh, a South Asian Muslim majority country,

has been using fatwa (a religious ruling based on Islamic law given by Islamic scholars) against

women since the nineties. In the name of fatwa, women of Bangladesh are being subjected to

corporal (whipping, flogging, stoning to death etc.) and psychological (socially ostracizing,

public humiliation etc.) punishments imposed by pharisaical religious leaders. In spite of having

antagonistic Islamic fundamental cliques in the backdrop, years of judicial and human rights

activism finally propelled the government of Bangladesh to incorporate anti-fatwa policies in the

National Women Development Policy 2011. The basic outline of the multiple streams lens was

put forth by Kingdon (1995) in the tradition of Cohen, March, and Olsen’s (1972) garbage can

model of organizational choice (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 66). There are three streams flowing

through the policy system: problems, policies and politics, which are coupled by policy

entrepreneurs when policy window is opened. So far, Kindon’s Multiple Streams Framework has

never been used to explain the anti-fatwa policy process in Bangladesh. In the light of five

structural elements of Multiple Streams Framework, this paper is written with a purpose to

illustrate how the fatwa violence issue reached high agenda status and consequently, anti-fatwa

policy was adopted.


Applicability of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model:

Case Study of Fatwa Violence against Women in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a densely populated South Asian country which has recently started to climb

the ladder of development, gained its independence in 1971. Since then the arduous odyssey of

Bangladeshi women from the nowhere to the vertex of empowerment is ongoing.

The total enumerated population comprises of 71,255 thousand males and 71,064

thousand females, which yields a sex ratio of 100.3 indicating equal numbers of men and women

in the country (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2011, p. 6). The demographic profile of

Bangladesh elucidates that women are the substantial portion of population and thus,

ameliorating the current vulnerable state of the rights of women is the prerequisite for

Bangladesh to reach a moderate point of the development ladder. Though the majority of

Bangladeshi people practice a moderate form of Islam and most of the laws (except the family

laws) of the country are secular in nature, religious zealots have always been a threatening factor

for the government of Bangladesh to promote women’s rights in the policies and practice. In

addition, the policy making process in the country is highly characterized by vote-bank politics.

‘Fatwa’ violence against women (extrajudicial punishment, i.e. whipping or lashing, beating

and stoning to death, ostracizing or public humiliation which are imposed by religious leaders)

has been an anathema to the women of Bangladesh, particularly to those in rural areas. It was

“Is it a crime to fall in love with the person you like and marry him? I did not protest the

flogging after the so-called prosecutors threatened to expel my family from the village.”

-Nazma Akhtar, victim of fatwa violence for marrying her boyfriend (Shammy, 2002)


evident that the state had been failure to protect the constitutional rights of women in

Bangladesh. In the backdrop of fatwa inflicted society, government has made policies to protect

women’s constitutional rights as mentioned in clause 31, “ To enjoy the protection of the law,

and to be treated in accordance with law, and only in accordance with law, is the inalienable

right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within

Bangladesh, and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or

property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law”- Right to protection of law,

Part III: Fundamental Rights, The Constitution of The Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh

(People's Republic of Bangladesh, 1972).

Multiple Streams (MS) is a lens, perspective, or framework that explains how policies are

made by national governments under conditions of ambiguity. The framework contains five

structural elements: problems, policies, politics, policy windows, and policy entrepreneurs

(Zahariadis, 2007, pp. 65,70).

This paper would attempt to assess the applicability of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams

Framework for the selected case study expanding each of the five structural elements.

Background Topic

Defining Fatwa

In Islamic jurisprudence, a fatwa is “an opinion on a point of law rendered by a mufti

[legal consultant] in response to a question submitted to him by a private individual or by a qadi

[religious judge, magistrate]” (Shehabuddin, 1999, p. 1015). “Because most Muslim countries

stopped following the shariah laws during the twentieth century and adopted secular legal

systems, fatwas are issued mostly on a personal basis or for political reasons” (Hallaq, 2004).


Fatwa Violence against Women in Bangladesh: Basic Premises

“Since 1991, salish (village arbitration) and fatwa (religious edict) have become common

features of Bangladeshi society, especially in rural areas” (Riaz, 2005, p. 171). “Thus, in the

1990s, the fate of women fatwa victims-tyrannized by the ‘neo-Islamic’ shalish, sentenced to

‘barbaric, medieval forms of punishment’-became emblematic of the plight of the nation”

(Siddiqi, 2010, p. 186).

In Bangladesh, fatwa has been totally misconceived and is used by half educated village

mullahs (clerics) who actually are not scholars in Islam. These Mullahs through the informal

village justice system (shalish) punish women for so-called anti-social or immoral activities. In

almost all the cases women are brought before the shalish simply for their involvement in extra

marital affairs, marrying a man from a different religion, giving birth to a child before marriage,

complications due to oral divorce pronounced to a woman by her husband and so on. Although

these punishments are not legal per se, because the Mullahs exert considerable autonomy and

power in the rural areas, the punishments are generally carried out against the helpless women

(Farouk, Violence against women : A statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection

and methodology and approaches for overcoming them, 2005, p. 10) .

Synopsis of Anti-fatwa Policies and Rulings

In December of 2000, the High Court issued a suo motu (on their or its own initiative,

without external prompting or explicit demand) rule against fatwa concerning a newspaper report

of fatwa violence. On January 1 of 2001, the High Court Division made this rule absolute and

banned fatwa as unauthorized and illegal. Two appeals were filed against this anti-fatwa

judgement by clerics.


“The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order, initially for six weeks, and then

extended the stay order indefinitely. It remained in a state of abeyance until, unexpectedly the

matter came up briefly before the courts in late 2008” (Siddiqi, 2010, p. 196).

The first petition against fatwa violence was filed jointly in 2009 by five human rights

organizations. The petitioners stated about many incidents of extra judicial punishments across

the country, detailed in different paragraphs of the Writ Petition and the application for direction.

From the incidents detailed in all the Writ Petitions, a picture clearly emerged that primarily poor

and vulnerable women and men in rural areas across the country have been subjected to

whipping, lashing and beating in imposition and execution of certain penalties, by private

individuals acting without any authority of law. Finally, on July of 2010, on the basis of three

separate writ petitions (Writ Petition No.5863 of 2009 with Writ Petition No.754 of 2010 and

Writ Petition No.4275 of 2010), the High Court analogously gave the judgment stating that “i)

The persons responsible for imposition of extra-judicial punishments and the abettor(s) shall be

held responsible under the relevant sections of the Penal Code and other laws of law applicable

in the regard. ii) The law enforcing agencies and the Union Parishads and the Pourashavas across

the country shall take preventive measures so that extra-judicial punishments including in the

name of execution of fatwa do not happen in their concerned areas” (Judgment of Fatwa Case,

2010, pp. 1, 20,21).

Later, the National Women Development Policy 2011 of Bangladesh, which was

declared on March 8 of 2011, proposed in paragraph 17.5 that “Refraining from giving any

statement or doing similar something or taking any initiative based on wrong interpretation of

any religion, any tenets against the interest of women at the local or state levels” (Ministry of

Women and Children Affairs, 2011, p. 14).


On May 12 of 2011, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh ruled on the appeals by clerics against

the 2001 court order on banning fatwa. As per the ruling, “By majority judgment, both the

appeals are allowed in part with the following orders:

(v) Fatwa on religious matters only may be given by the properly educated persons which may

be accepted only voluntarily but any coercion or undue influence in any form is forbidden.

(vi) But no person can pronounce fatwa which violates or affects the rights or reputation or

dignity of any person which is covered by the laws of the land.

(vii) No punishment, including physical violence and/or mental torture in any form, can be

imposed or inflicted on anybody in pursuance of fatwa.

(viii) The declaration of the High Court Division that the impugned fatwa is void and

unauthorized, is maintained” (Mohammad Tayeeb, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad V. Government

of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 2011, pp. 43, 85).

Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework: Theoretical Perspective

The basic outline of the multiple streams lens was put forth by Kingdon (1995) in the

tradition of Cohen, March, and Olsen’s (1972) garbage can model of organizational choice

(Zahariadis, 2007, p. 66). The origins of the MS model in the realm of public policy can be

traced back to a 1984 book by John Kingdon - Agendas, alternatives and public policies -

considered a ‘modern classic’ in the field of political science and an extensively cited academic

work in general (Pollitt, 2008, p. 127) (Maricuţ, 2011). Kingdon’s theory lays out a set of factors

that explain why agendas change as they do. In his view, important institutional and other factors

do indeed structure the agenda-setting process. Elections occur at regular intervals; the public

mood changes only slowly; entrepreneurs seek to take advantage of windows of opportunity that

are open for only certain periods of time; institutional gate-keepers have privileged positions in


the policy process. Even after these structures have their impact on the process, however, there is

a residual randomness: The window of opportunity may close unexpectedly; the election may

yield an unexpected winner; a gate-keeper may lose their position (Baumgartner, 2016, p. 10).

Zahariadis has devised an appropriate diagram to provide a quick glimpse of Kingdon’s Multiple

Streams Framework.

Figure 1:

Figure 1: Diagram of the Multiple Streams Framework (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 71)

Multiple Streams model is effective, because “the multiple streams lens is useful in

linking the various stages of the policy making process under the umbrella of a single lens.

Politics (policy formation) and administration (implementation) are not so rigidly divorced

(March 1994, p. 109; Olsen 1988). MS may be able to address this issue with appropriate

PROBLEM STREAMIndicatorsFocusing EventsFeedbackLoad

POLICY WINDOWCoupling Logic-Consequential-Doctrinal

Decision Style-More Cautious-Less Cautious

POLICY

OUTPUTPOLITICS STREAMParty IdeologyNational Mood

POLICY STREAMValue AcceptabilityTechnical FeasibilityIntegration-Access-Mode-Size-Capacity

POLICY ENTREPRENEURS

AccessResourcesStrategies-Framing-Salami Tactics-Symbols-Affect Priming


revisions and qualifications. MS is a good way of exploring the impact of ideas without

necessarily denying the importance of self-interest” (Zahariadis, 2007, pp. 83-84).

MS research has focused almost exclusively on the national level, in contrast to

competing policy lenses, such as Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith’s (1999) advocacy coalitions and E.

Ostrom’s (1999) institutional rational choice. MS argues that the streams can be viewed as each

having a life of its own. Mucciaroni (1992) and Bendor, Moe, and Shott (2011) question the

appropriateness of conceptualizing independent streams. The streams can be more fruitfully

viewed as interdependent, Mucciaroni maintains, and changes in one stream can trigger or

reinforce changes in another, making coupling much less fortuitous and the process more

purposive and strategic. Travis and Zahariadis (2002) dropped the notion of policy entrepreneurs.

They also opted to model only the interactions between problems and policy and between

politics and policy (Zahariadis, 2007, pp. 79-83).

Research Question

Q1. Which policy framework is better suited to describe the policy process in the case study of

fatwa violence against women?

Q2. Can the streams from Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework be used to illustrate the

development process of anti-fatwa policies?

Q3. In the anti-fatwa policy process, how did policy entrepreneurs couple the three streams

through the open policy window?

Rationale of Choosing Multiple Stream Framework to Explain Selected Case Study

To answer the research question 1, the author of this paper would like to provide the

rationale of choosing Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework.


In his writings, Zahariadis stated that multiple streams theory deals with policy making

under conditions of ambiguity. Ambiguity reefers to “a state of having many ways of thinking

about the same circumstances or phenomena” (Feldman 1989, p.5). For example, more

information can tell us how AIDS is spread, but it still won’t tell us whether AIDS is a health,

educational, political or moral issue (Zahariadis, 2007, pp. 66-67). In the case study of fatwa

violence against women, anti-fatwa policy making also dealt under conditions of ambiguity.

Fatwa violence against women could be a human rights, particularly women rights issue,

secularism versus Islamic fundamentalism issue, rule of law issue, religious issue, or an issue on

the authority of Islamic scholars.

In his writings, Zahariadis also stated that policy makers almost never make their

objectives crystal clear (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 67). In the National Women Development Policy

2011, government used the term ‘wrong interpretation of religion’ instead of using the phrase

‘fatwa’. They did not technically opt for the total ban of ‘fatwa’ and also did not make it clear

whether ‘right interpretation of religion’ can be used or not.

Applicability of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model in the Selected Case Study

Problem Stream in Selected Case Study

The problem stream consists of various conditions that policy makers and citizens want

addressed. Policy makers find out about these conditions through indicators, focusing events, and

feedback (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 70).

Condition 1: Indicators- “Fairly often, problems come to the attention of governmental

decision makers not through some sort of political pressure or perceptual sleight of hand but


because some more or less systematic indicator simply shows that there is a problem out there.

Such indicators abound in the political world because both governmental and nongovernmental

agencies routinely monitor various activities and events” (Kingdon, 2003, p. 90). Decision

makers and those close to them use the indicators in two major ways: to assess the magnitude of

a problem and to become aware of changes in the problem (Kingdon, 2003, p. 91). Most of the

incidents of fatwa violence against women usually go unreported, but human rights

organizations-for instance, Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK)- have

been working consistently to find the indicators and use them “politically” for measuring the

magnitude of fatwa-instigated violence in the hope of catching official attention. The

Investigation Unit of ASK has been documenting the indicators for incidents of fatwa violence

from daily newspapers, daily action meetings, visiting the scene of occurrence and other relevant

sources. (Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK), 2013). The rate of fatwa

violence against women in each year is used as indicator.

Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007No of fatwa

cases31 45 32 46 37 46 39 35

Cases filed - 7 9 5 2 - 8 4

Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

No of fatwa cases

20 35 22 59 48 21 32 8

Cases filed 6 13 4 - 16 5 10 3

Figure 2: Number of Fatwa Violence, 2000-2015 (Farouk, Violence against women : A statisticaloverview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them, 2005), (Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK), 2013, p. 5), (ASK Documentation Unit, 2015), (ASK Documentation Unit, 2013), (ASK Documentation Unit, 2011), (Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK), 2007, p. 78)


“Between January 1993 and December 1996, more than sixty incidents of fatwa-

instigated violence, directed mostly against impoverished rural women, were reported in

Bangladesh” (Begum 1994; Ain-o-Salish Kendra 1997) (Shehabuddin, 1999, p. 1012).

Condition 2: Focusing Event-“Problems are often not self-evident by the indicators.

They need a little push to get the attention of people in and around government. That push is

sometimes provided by a focusing event like a crisis or disaster that comes along to call attention

to the problem, a powerful symbol that catches on, or the personal experience of a policy maker”

(Kingdon, 2003, p. 94). Bangladesh has witnessed numbers of egregious deaths of women

subjected to fatwa violence; particularly the country was appalled at the news of grievous death

of Nurjahan in 1993. “On January 10, 1993, in the northeastern district of Sylhet in Bangladesh,

a twenty-two-year-old woman called Nurjahan was dragged out of her home by her hair to be

punished for adultery. Nurjahan's first marriage had ended in divorce some time ago and she had

recently married Mutalib. The Salish issued a fatwa declaring that Nurjahan and Mutalib should

both be punished for engaging in unlawful sex. On that cold morning, Nurjahan and her husband

were forced to stand in a waist-deep pit in the ground and then each was pelted with 101 stones;

Nurjahan's elderly parents were given fifty lashes each. Later that day, Nurjahan killed herself by

drinking agricultural pesticide” (Shehabuddin, 1999, p. 1012). “Indeed, Nurjahan’s story can be

found in most international documents on Bangladesh, from CEDAW shadow reports of the time

to the Country assessment documents of donor nations” (Siddiqi, 2010, p. 191).

“……..a news item was published in “The Daily Banglabazar Patrika” on 2nd

December,2000 to the effect that Shahida, wife of Saiful (son of Golam Mostafa) of village

Atitha within Kirtipur Union Parishad under Sadar Police Station of Naogaon was forced to

marry her paternal cousin Samsul under a so-called Fatwa pronounced by Haji Azizul Huq on


the ground that her marriage was dissolved consequent upon an incident of about one year ago

while her husband, out of anger, uttered the word ‘talak’, but in spite of that Shahida and Saiful

continued their marital tie” (Mohammad Tayeeb, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad V. Government of

the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 2011, p. 72&74). This focusing event caught the attention

of the High Court and the High Court issued a suo motu rule.

“Awareness of a problem sometimes comes only with the second crisis, not the first,

because the second cannot be dismissed as an isolated fluke, as the first could” (Kingdon, 2003,

p. 98). The tragic death of Nurjahan had captured the attention of the whole country within a

couple of days. But soon it became clear that the incident was not an aberration; in rural

Bangladesh it was not uncommon for poor women to be subjected to such arbitrary ‘dispensation

of justice’ (Riaz, 2005, p. 179).

Policy Stream in Selected Case Study

The policy stream includes a “soup” of ideas that compete to win acceptance in policy

networks. Ideas are generated by specialists in policy communities (networks that include

bureaucrats, congressional staff members, academics and researchers in think tanks who share a

common concern in a single policy area such as health or environmental policy) and are

considered in various forums and forms, such as, hearings, papers, and conversations

(Zahariadis, 2007, p. 72). The policy stream in the case study of fatwa violence against women

included a “soup” of ideas generated by human rights organizations, feminist organizations,

media, courts or judiciary, researchers in think tank, religious leaders, and bureaucrats. It is

evident that after the focusing event of Nurjahan’s death, media came with several ideas: a)

creation of a negative ‘public’ image of fatwa violence, b) more reporting on fatwa-instigated


violence, c) forming a culture of accountability for concerned government officials and local

elected representatives through constant watching over, d) arranging dialogues among policy

makers, human right organizations and victims. For instance, ‘The Daily Prothom Alo’

(country’s leading national newspaper) arranged the roundtable at its head office following the

death of Hena Akhter by whipping under fatwa at Chamta in Naria in Shariatpur last month.

(The Daily Star, 2011)

To win acceptance in policy networks, human rights organizations generated technically

feasible and acceptable ideas of a) venue shopping, b) investigating the news reports on fatwa

violence, c) organizing anti-fatwa campaigning, d) providing emergency support to fatwa

victims, e) conducting research, f) providing social and legal aid, and g) promoting community

activism.

Judicial activism (High Court rulings) generated a landmark ruling that was technically

feasible and able to win acceptance in policy networks. In the Kingdon’s framework, the

selection criteria for ideas include technical feasibility and value acceptability (Zahariadis, 2007,

p. 72).

Politics Stream in Selected Case Study

“The politics stream consists of three elements: the national mood, pressure group

campaigns, and administrative or legislative turnover” (Zahariadis, 2007).

Element 1: National Mood- The national mood refers to the notion that a fairly large

number of individuals in a given country tend to think along common lines and that the mood

swings from time to time. Government officials sensing changes in this mood through, say,

monitoring public opinion polls, act to promote certain items on the agenda or, conversely, to


dim the prospects of others (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 73). In Bangladesh, Muslims constitute 86.6

percent of the population (Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, n.d.). The

national mood may swing from time to time easily in favor of Islam as the basis of laws. In such

circumstances, government officials, legislation, and political leaders are stepping ahead

cautiously. The vote bank politics in Bangladesh is circumscribed within showing off religious

virtues and thus, politicians might not risk their chance of being elected and decide to work in

favor of national mood.

Element 2: Pressure Group Campaigns- Politicians often view the support or opposition of

interest groups as indicators of consensus or dissent in the broader political arena. For example,

if many interest groups voice their support for deregulation, it is likely that government officials

will hasten to include the item on the agenda. In case of conflicting views, which is frequently

the case, politicians formulate an image of the balance of support and opposition (Zahariadis,

2007, p. 73). In the case study of fatwa violence, there were conflicting views of interest groups.

Consequently, politicians formulated an image of the balance of support and opposition in the

selected case study. They incorporated anti fatwa policies in the National Women Development

Policy 2015 stating, “Refraining from giving any statement or doing similar something or taking

any initiative based on wrong interpretation of any religion, any tenets against the interest of

women at the local or state levels”. It is noticeable that government did not mention the phrase

‘fatwa’ here, as a policy against an Islamic idea ‘fatwa’ might seem anti-Islamic and could create

furor among Islamist pressure groups. Government used the term ‘wrong interpretation of

religion’ to placate all pressure groups and did not technically opt for the total ban of ‘fatwa’.

Thus, the politicians attempted to balance between the demands of both-the Islamist and human

rights pressure groups. The interest groups in the selected case study are as follows.


Group A: Local Elite Groups – “As mentioned earlier, most fatwa cases are enmeshed in

local power struggles and relations of dominance. Such fatwas are almost never exclusively

about the right to interpret the meanings of religious texts and prescriptions” (Siddiqi 2006)

(Siddiqi, 2010, p. 186).

Group B: Islamist Groups - At the national level, Islamist media vociferously criticized the

outrage of civil society over fatwa-related violence. (Siddiqi, 2010, p. 187). The Islamic Alliance

issued a fatwa against the two judges, Golam Rabbani and Nazmun Ara (significantly the first

female judge in the High Court), declaring them apostates and demanding that they revoke their

ruling and apologize in public (Siddiqi, 2010, p. 195). Then, two appeals were filed against this

judgement by an Assistant Mufti at a madrasah, described as being engaged in imparting Islamic

Higher Education and the Chairman of Mosjid Council, claimed to be a scholar of Islamic

Jurisprudence, who was regularly asked for advice on Muslim family matters and other aspects

of Muslim life and in the process issues fatwas and as such has an interest in the matter. In the

year of 2011, High Court called for 5(five) Olayma Kerams or clerics to appear before this Court

to express their considered view through the Director General of Islamic Foundation on fatwa

(Mohammad Tayeeb, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad V. Government of the People’s Republic of

Bangladesh, 2011).

Group C: Human Rights Organizations and Feminism Activists- “After the death of

Nurjahan, police took action with great reluctance, and only after pressure mounted following

news coverage in a local daily and the arrival of activists” (Siddiqi, 2010, p. 189). “Had it not

been for the media and the pressure of feminist and human rights organizations-as well as a

desire on the part of the government to minimize negative international publicity-the perpetrators

might never have been apprehended and punished” (Siddiqi, 2010, p. 190). The first petition


against fatwa violence was filed jointly in 2009 by five human rights organizations, Centre for

Law and Mediation (Ain O Salish Kendro or ASK), Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust

(BLAST), Bangladesh Mohila Porishod (Bangladesh Women Forum), BRAC, Nijera Kori (We

can Do) (Judgment of Fatwa Case, 2010).

Group D: International Pressure Groups- International pressure groups have propelled the

government of Bangladesh to adopt policies against fatwa violence.

Bangladesh has an obligation under international law to prevent, prohibit and punish torture

and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 7 of the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that, “no one shall be subjected to

torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Moreover, Articles 2 and 16

of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment (CAT) outline that States must prevent acts of torture and other ill-treatment. The

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) does

not explicitly refer to the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment. The Human Rights

Committee in its General Comment No. 7 has stressed that the prohibition on torture and other

ill-treatment, “must extend to corporal punishment” (Judgment of Fatwa Case, 2010).

Policy Windows in Selected Case Study

The policy window is an opportunity for advocates of proposals to push their pet solutions, or

to push attention to their special problems. Advocates lie in wait in and around government with

their solutions at hand, waiting for the problems to float by to which they can attach their

solutions (Kingdon, 2003, p. 165). Windows are opened by compelling problems or by events in

the political stream (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 74). In the case study of fatwa violence, the policy


window opened for the first time, when the High Court issued a suo motu rule against fatwa

concerning a compelling event of fatwa violence in 2000. Advocates in the case study, human

rights organizations pushed their pet solutions and consequently, the High Court Division made

this rule absolute and banned fatwa as unauthorized and illegal in 2001.

Once the window opens, it does not stay open long. If the window passes without action,

it may not open again for a long time (Kingdon, 2003, pp. 169, 170). For example, in 2001, the

High Court Division banned fatwa as unauthorized and illegal. Thus, the policy window opened.

Two appeals were filed against this judgement. The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order,

initially for six weeks, and then extended the stay order indefinitely. It remained in a state of

abeyance until, unexpectedly the matter came up briefly before the courts in late 2008 (Siddiqi,

2010, p. 196).Thus, policy window for anti-fatwa policies opened in 2001. As this window

passed without sufficient action in 2001, it did not open again before 2009.

Basically a window opens because of change in the political stream. A change of

administration is probably the most obvious window in the policy stream (Kingdon, 2003, p.

168). The Bangladesh state emerged on the basis of a constitution with secular principles in

1972. In 1989, President Ershad secured a constitutional amendment declaring Islam the state

religion. After general election of 1991, the BNP sought the support of the Jaamat-i-Islami (an

Islamist party) to form the government. By 1993 it may be said Islam as a political ideology had

become a part of the Bangladesh polity (Riaz, 2005, pp. 172,174, 176). Therefore, in 2001,

judicial activism and human rights activist could not become successful in pushing their

proposals through the policy window. But in 2009, comparatively ‘secular’ political party named

‘Bangladesh Awami League’ was elected and consequently, the policy window for anti-fatwa

policies opened because of this ‘secular’ change in political stream. During the Awami League


regime, 15th amendment in the constitution was made in 2010 which restored secularism

(Wikipedia, n.d.). The new administration gives some groups, legislators, and agencies their

opportunity-an open policy window-to push positions and proposals they did not have the

opportunity to push with the previous administration, and it disadvantages other players

(Kingdon, 2003, p. 168). The new administration in Bangladesh provided an open policy

window in 2009. Consequently, first petition against fatwa violence was filed jointly in 2009 by

five human rights organizations. In 2010, the High Court ruled against extrajudicial punishment

in the name of fatwa (Judgment of Fatwa Case, 2010, pp. 1, 20, 21). National Women

Development Policy 2011 of Bangladesh incorporated polices against fatwa (Ministry of Women

and Children Affairs, 2011, p. 14). Later in 2011, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh ruled against

fatwa (Mohammad Tayeeb, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad V. Government of the People’s

Republic of Bangladesh, 2011, p. 43 &85). Coupling takes place during open windows when

certain policy makers happen to be in power (Zahariadis, 2007, p. 74).

Role of Policy Entrepreneurs in Selected Case Study

Policy entrepreneurs are individuals or corporate actors who attempt to couple the three

streams. They are more than mere advocates of particular solutions; they are power brokers and

manipulators of problematic preferences and unclear technology. When windows open, policy

entrepreneurs must immediately seize the opportunity to initiate action. Otherwise, the

opportunity is lost, and the policy entrepreneurs must wait for the next one to come along.

Entrepreneurs must not be only persistent, but also skilled at coupling. They must be able to

attach their solutions and find politicians receptive to their ideas. A policy’s chances of being

adopted dramatically increase when all three streams-problems, policies, and politics-are coupled


in a single package. Entrepreneurs with more resources, i.e., the ability to spend more time,

money, and energy to push their proposals, have greater rates of success….Entrepreneurs must

also employ manipulating strategies to accomplish their goal of coupling the three streams

(Zahariadis, 2007, p. 74).

In the case study of fatwa violence, judiciary along with human rights activists played the

role of policy entrepreneurs. They were persistent since 2001 through 2011, when the anti-fatwa

policy was finally adopted by the government. Being skilled in coupling, the High Court and

human rights activists seize the opportunity, when policy window opened in 2009 with the

changes in political power. To employ manipulating strategies to accomplish their goal of

coupling the three streams, human rights organizations not only went for venue shopping to

courts; but also documented incidents of fatwa violence and presented those incidents before

court. It was rightly said by Kingdon that “Not all entrepreneurs are successful at all times. The

more successful entrepreneurs are those who have greater access to policy makers” (Kingdon,

2003, p. 74). That is why, the country’s judiciary who had greater access to policy makers,

became successful in the case study of fatwa violence. In this case, it was the judiciary who

initiated a suo moto rule first and along with human rights organizations, the court took

consecutive actions to couple streams. In all the judgments by court, it clearly stated the

constitutional rights for women in Bangladesh, made justified arguments in favor of the right to

exercise the power of judiciary and ruled against fatwa.


Conclusion

To sum up, the three streams of the case study on anti-fatwa policies were

interdependent. Several focusing events and indicators grabbed the attention toward the severity

of fatwa violence against women in the problem stream. In the next ‘policy’ stream, human

rights organizations, judiciary, secularist groups and international organizations came up with

several ideas for the solution to the problem. The politics stream is the most complex one among

three streams, as several pressure groups started their campaigns in favor or against the policy.

National mood also played a critical role in this stream- “who will win the policy game”. The

judiciary performed the role of policy entrepreneurs successfully to a great extent, when the

policy window was opened. I would argue that though finally anti-fatwa policy was incorporated

by the Government of Bangladesh in the National Women Development Policy 2011 and the

Supreme Court of Bangladesh ruled that “Fatwa on religious matters only may be given by the

properly educated persons which may be accepted only voluntarily but any coercion or undue

influence in any form is forbidden”, the policy is still not sufficient to protect the women from

vulnerability to be subjected to fatwa violence. Supreme Court banned the coercion of fatwa, but

as per the rulings fatwa can still be issued by ‘properly educated persons’. It creates a confusion

that who can be considered as ‘properly educated persons’.

The following articles from the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh are

conducive to ensure the rights of women.

“27. All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.”-

Equality before Law, Part III: Fundamental Rights, The Constitution of The Peoples’ Republic of

Bangladesh (People's Republic of Bangladesh, 1972)


“35. (5) No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading

punishment or treatment.”- Protection in respect of trial and punishment, Part III: Fundamental

Rights, The Constitution of The Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh”. (People's Republic of

Bangladesh, 1972)

In the constitution of Bangladesh, the 15th amendment primarily served to repeal aspects of

the Fifth Amendment. In February, 2010, the judgement of Bangladesh Supreme Court paved the

way for restoring the original four fundamental principles declared in the preamble of the

constitution, including secularism (Wikipedia, n.d.). At the same time, the constitution starts with

the “Bismillah-Ar-Rahmanir-Rahim” (initial verses of the Holy Quran) and as per the article 2

(a) of the constitution, Islam remained as the state religion. It might seem like an exceptional

combination of religion and secularism. But verily, turmoil is resulted in because of such

contradictory clauses in constitution. It can be linked with the lengthy policy process in the

selected case study.

This paper concludes that Kingdon’s Multiple Streams framework is best suited to explain

such real life policy making, as anti-fatwa policies were made under conditions of ambiguity.


References

Amnesty International. (2001, January 5). Bangladesh: Landmark High Court ruling against

fatwas. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

https://www.amnesty.org/.../asa130012001en.pdf

Anbarasan, E. (2011). Bangladesh village shaken after lashed girl's death. BBC News. Retrieved

October 25, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12398757

ASK Documentation Unit. (2011). Human Rights Situation of Bangladesh in 2011 . Dhaka:

Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro-ASK. Retrieved October 23,

2015, from

http://www.askbd.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/HR_Situation_Bangladesh_2011

.pdf

ASK Documentation Unit. (2013). Violence Against Women:Violence Instigated by Salish or

Fatwa. Dhaka: Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro-ASK. Retrieved

October 23, 2015, from http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/01/11/violence-instigated-fatwa-

salish-january-31-december-2013/

ASK Documentation Unit. (2015). Violence Against Women: Salish and Fatwa. Dhaka: Centre

for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK). Retrieved October 20, 2015, from

http://www.askbd.org/ask/2015/10/07/violence-women-fatwa-salish/

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Preliminary Results of Bangladesh Population and

Housing Census, July 2011. Dhaka. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/4376/download/56815

Baumgartner, F. R. (2016). John Kingdon and the Evolutionary Approach to Public Policy and

Agenda-Setting. In N. Zahariadis, Handbook of Public Policy Agenda-Setting (p. 10).


Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from

https://www.unc.edu/~fbaum/articles/Baumgartner-Kingdon.pdf

BBC News. (2001). Islamic group attacks fatwa ruling. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1099421.stm

Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK). (2007). Human Rights in

Bangladesh 2007. Dhaka. Retrieved October 27, 2015, from

http://www.askbd.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ASK_Human%20Rights

%20Report_07.pdf

Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK). (2010). Annual Report 2010.

Dhaka: Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK). Retrieved

November 1, 2015, from

http://www.askbd.org/ask/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/AnnualReport_10.pdf

Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK). (2013, April 30). About Us - Ain

o Salish Kendra(ASK) | A Legal Aid & Human Rights Organisation. Retrieved November

23, 2015, from http://www.askbd.org/ask/about-us/

Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK). (2013). Human Rights Situation

in Bangladesh 2013. Centre for Law and Mediation or Ain O Salish Kendro (ASK),

Dhaka. Retrieved October 20, 2015, from

http://www.askbd.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ASK%20Human%20Rights

%20Report%202012.pdf

Dias, A. (2009). Exiled writer says: 'I am dying every day in the west'. The Guardian. Retrieved

from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/10/bangladesh-human-rights


Farouk, S. A. (2005). Violence against women : A statistical overview, challenges and gaps.

Violence against women : A statistical overview, challenges and gaps, (p. 10). Geneva.

Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw-stat-

2005/docs/expert-papers/Farouk.pdf

Farouk, S. A. (2005). Violence against women : A statistical overview, challenges and gaps in

data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them. Geneva.

Retrieved October 20, 2015, from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw-stat-

2005/docs/expert-papers/Farouk.pdf

Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

National Web Portal of Bangladesh: http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/site/page/812d94a8-

0376-4579-a8f1-a1f66fa5df5d/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE

%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE

%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%9C

%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%A8

Hallaq, W. B. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Retrieved

November 21, 2015, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424600948.html

Hossain, D. H. (2010). No Place for Rule of Fatwa on Women's Lives. Dhaka: The Daily

Prothom Alo. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

http://archive.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2010-10-18/news/102154

Judgment of Fatwa Case, Writ Petition No.5863 of 2009, Writ Petition No.754 of 2010 and Writ

Petition No.4275 of 2010 (High Court July 8, 2010). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from

http://www.askbd.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/fatwa_judgement.pdf


Khan, A. H. (2012). From fatwas to freedom: Protecting women rights in Bangladesh. Dhaka:

The Financial Express. Retrieved October 29, 2015, from

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/old/index.php?

ref=MjBfMTJfMTFfMTJfMV8yN18xNTI4MzE=

Kingdon, J. W. (2003). Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (Second Edition ed.).

Addison-Wesely Educational Publishers Inc. .

Knowels, E. (2006). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press.

Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/

Maricuţ, A. (2011, May 3). To what extent can the multiple streams model be used to explain

policy-making at the EU level? 3. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from

http://www.itol.ro/wp-content/uploads/The-Multiple-Streams-model-at-the-EU-level_a-

case-study-on-VET-policy-1.pdf

Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. (2011, March 8). National Women Development

Policy 2011. 14. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Government of the Peoples' Republic of

Bangladesh. Retrieved October 30, 2015, from

http://mowca.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/mowca.portal.gov.bd/policies/

64238d39_0ecd_4a56_b00c_b834cc54f88d/National-Women-Policy-2011English.pdf

Mohammad Tayeeb, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad V. Government of the People’s Republic of

Bangladesh, Civil Appeal 593/2001 (Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division

May 12, 2011). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

http://supremecourt.gov.bd/resources/documents/800933_CA593.pdf

Nigar, M. (2012). ‘Fatwa’ violence against women:A Bangladesh perspective. Retrieved

November 12, 2015, from http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?


article=1000&context=meher_nigar

People's Republic of Bangladesh. (1972). The Constitution of the People's Republic of

Bangladesh. Dhaka. Retrieved October 23, 2015, from

http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/sections_detail.php?id=367&sections_id=24567

Rauhala, E. (2011). Gender Justice: Is Bangladesh Ignoring ‘Fatwa’ Violence Against Women?

New York : Time. Retrieved from http://world.time.com/2011/07/11/gender-justice-is-

bangladesh-ignoring-fatwa-violence-against-women/

Riaz, A. (2005). Traditional Institutions as Tools of Political Islam in Bangladesh. Journal of

Asian and African Studies, 171. Retrieved October 10, 2015, from

https://about.illinoisstate.edu/ariaz/Documents/Traditional_Institutions.pdf

Shammy, F. J. (2002, December 18). Fatwa and the helpless women in Bangladesh. The New

Nation. Retrieved from http://www.radicalparty.org/en/content/fatwa-and-helpless-

women-bangladesh

Shehabuddin, E. (1999). Contesting the Illicit: Gender and the Politics of Fatwas in Bangladesh.

Institutions, Regulation, and Social Control, Vol. 24(4), 1012. Retrieved October 28,

2015, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3175600

Siddiqi, D. M. (2010). Islam, gender and the nation_The social life of Bangladeshi fatwas. In D.

H. Mathur, Communalism and Globalization in South Asia and its Diaspora (p. 186).

London and New York: Routledge Taylor &Francis Group .

The Daily Star. (2011). Ban fatwa, make it punishable offence:Speakers at Prothom Alo

roundtable urge govt; More than 500 women fell victim to fatwa despite HC ruling

against it 10 years ago. Dhaka. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from

http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/story.php?nid=174163


Wikipedia. (n.d.). Constitution of Bangladesh. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Bangladesh

Zahariadis, N. (2007). The Multiple Streams Framework. In P. A. Sabatier, Theories of the

Policy Process (2nd ed., pp. 65,70). Westview Press.