Nazma Akhtar, 24, endured several cane lashes as her neighbours watched helplessly. The flogging was ordered by a group of religious leaders of her village in Comilla district after she eloped with her boyfriend and married him secretly. The trial and punishment occurred as recently as in September this year. She was sentenced to 100 lashes.

The young woman, haunted by the public humiliation, never really understood why she had been punished. "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," said Nazma, nursing her wounds both physical and mental.

She was flogged in front of her neighbors, friends, relations and other people of the village. Few dared to intervene to save her. Such flogging is illegal in Bangladesh, which despite being a Muslim-majority nation is governed by secular laws.

Yet, this type of trial and punishment is a common practice in the country's remote villages, which are controlled by the religious leaders.

The village leaders pronounce 'Fatwa' (religious edict) in incorrect interpretation of Islamic laws and practice. The perpetrators are usually influential people linked with the rich, while the victims are almost always women from the poor families. These poor people are always subjected to violence and neglect.

Nazma's instance has brought to remind the 1993 death of Noorjahan at Chhatakchhara village in Komolganj upazila under Moulvibazar district. Noorjahan, 22, took her own life after she was buried up to the waist before being stoned in execution of a fatwar issued by a group of local Muslim leaders.

Noorjahan's death shocked the nation and raised new questions about the practice of fatwa. This also highlighted the plight of the women who are the usual target of the practice.

The tragedy prompted women and human rights groups and NGOs to call for declaring the practice illegal. But many other women like Noorjahan became victims of the abuse of fatwa.

Unofficial figures show that 162 women fell victims to fatwa in eight years till 2000. However, these figures were collected mainly from newspaper reports. The actual number of such victims is believed to be higher.

The rights activists say, those who practice fatwa is not fit for the job. They are too ignorant about Islam to perform such a difficult job. In fact, such clerics abuse Islam for lack of knowledge about it.

Khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Maulana Obaidul Haq said, 'Fatwa' is an Arabic word that means 'decision' or 'resolution'. "The purpose of fatwa is to explain the laws of shariah," he said.

Maulana Haq said an Alem or Mufti (Islamic scholar) can pronounce 'fatwa' but none has the right to punish anyone. "Punishment can be given only by a court, not the people who utter fatwa," he observed.

The Khatib admitted that due to ignorance of some village leaders and illiterate 'morals', poor women are victimised by fatwa. "They are like quacks, they don't deserve the right to utter any fatwa."

However, Maulana Haq suggested formation of a state-level 'Fatwa Board' to institutionalise it and prevent abuse of Islamic rules. "There should be provisions for punishment of those who pronounce fatwa beyond the board."

Islamic thinkers say that 'fatwa' can be pronounced only for the sake of welfare of the people but a section of people are taking the opportunity to harass women misusing the provision of edict.

On the other hand, women leaders said such fatwas target women who want to stand on their own feet. Those who are striving to break the male domination in the society are the usual victims.

Most of the victims are those poor women who lack power to resist the influential people, said Sultana Kamal, executive director of Ain-O-Shalish Kendra.

She said the rural 'opinion leaders' out of their narrow personal interest want to show their power by pronouncing fatwa against women so that they could not strengthen their position in society. Penalties such as stoning and flogging are "totally illegal and violation of laws," Sultana Kamal said.

She said those who torture women through 'fatwa' must be punished on charges of violation of laws as well as repression on women.

In 1994, the village arbitrators scissored off the hair of a fatwa victim Rokeya, a housewife of Feni, and forced her to walk around the village with a garland of shoes in her neck. They kept the women tied with a tree for about eight hours and four youths raped her thereafter.

Rokeya fell victim to such cruelty through 'fatwa' as she conceived from an alleged extra-marital affair with a youngman of her village. No trial of her alleged lover took place. He lived merrily, while Rokeya was punished.

Apart from these rural women, some progressive women leaders also became the target of fatwa. Jahanara Imam who launched a movement against religious fundamentalism and fanaticism was declared 'murtad' by a section of religious leaders.

Besides, feminist writer Taslima Nasrin was compelled to leave the country after Islamic radicals sentenced her to death on charge of insulting Islam.

Women leaders think such incidents of cruelty against women not only violate the fundamental rights of the women but also stand against the country's ratification of international charters of human and women rights. There are still some pockets in Bangladesh where adult women are barred from exercising their constitutional voting rights.

Female voters of Mahamaya union of Chhagainaiya thana under Feni district have not voted since 1954, because of a fatwa pronounced by a local 'Pir' and his successors, said advocate Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association.

She informed that 'Hilla marriage' is another form of fatwa through which divorced women are forced to marry a man selected by the arbitrators for a certain period if their husbands want to marry them again.

If a man utters 'talak' three times, the religious leaders consider it a divorce which is totally illegal, according to the marriage laws. But in these cases, a divorced women seeking to re-marry the former husband is forced to take a temporary husband, a practice known as "hilla marriage." However, in 2001, the High Court ruled fatwa illegal. But the judges - Nazmun Ara Sultana and Mohammad Golam Rabbani were also declared 'murtad' by those who support such practice.