I feared for my life. Some extremists were so agitated, they declared me to be a heretic and wanted action against me. No one spoke up in my defense as they were still hesitant to open any controversy and be put in a position that obliged them to immediately abolish prostitution, without considering alternatives. There are cultural and socioeconomic factors or practices in Bangladesh that encourage or lead to prostitution. We harbor a notion that unless the parents and guardians marry off their daughters and wards they can't go to heaven.
Girls become vulnerable to any person who desire the girls without any accompanying demand.
For the peasants this is more powerful than a simple legal document. Often, without much ado, the girl is married to the man. In more than one case, such males are flesh traders who dupe these innocent girls into false marriages. As the religious laws are also a part of our municipal law it creates legal contradictions conflicting with our Constitution and which has led women activists to demand a secular common law for all citizens irrespective of religion. The activists hope that this secular law will benefit the citizens and in particular the women in achieving their rights and remove discrimination against women on grounds of religious and cultural differences.