Rokeya Begum is a burn victim undergoing treatment and Dhaka Medical College Hospital for injuries to her arms and chest.
The housewife from Nababganj, at the outskirts of capital Dhaka, says that she sustained the injuries while cooking.
Rokeya’s story isn’t an unusual one since it’s mostly women in the country who do the cooking.
Everyday women throughout the country fall victim to burn injuries while cooking due to lack of caution. In fact 90 percent of the female burn victims sustain injuries while cooking.
According to statistics from Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Burn and Plastic Surgery unit statistics, 2,090 people in 2018 sustained burns from gas stove accidents.
In December alone, 655 were burned among whom 90 percent was women and children.
“I don’t remember how I fell on the stove,” said Rokeya and added that she was home alone when the incident happened.
DMCH Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute Coordinator Dr Samanta Lal Sen told Bangla Tribune that most of the burn victims receiving treatment outdoors are women and children.
“We live in the 21st century but in the villages they still use oil lamps to keep themselves warm,” Dr Sen said.
“It’s a very mid-age culture. Hot water bags are easily available nowadays,” he added.
He said that its imperative everyone works together to spread awareness to ensure that people don’t fall victim to fire injuries.
“Thirty percent of the burn victims are admitted to the hospital and five percent are let go after observation,” said Dr Sajjad Khandaker, former professor of DMCH burn unit.
He said that one percent of the females burnt are victims of victims are violence but most of them are accident victims.
“There are some cases where the victim sets herself on fire in a suicide attempt,” he said before adding that those were rare cases.
“Ninety percent of the accidents are caused from the kitchen stoves,” Khondoker said.
He said that the kitchens in the city are extremely small, so much so that it’s difficult to move about. Moreover, in the villages the stoves are on the floor which makes it easy for women’s clothing to be caught on fire.
“Many people don’t switch off their stoves when they don’t see a flame when in reality it’s a matter of the gas pressure being low,” he said and added that the pressure increases later on and accidents happen when they try to light the stove.
Responding to queries about whether the female victims receive adequate treatment, Dr Samantalal Sen said, “Treating burn injuries is a long process. Many patients choose to go home when they get a little better.”
He added that many don’t come back for a follow-up as they are mostly dependent on their husbands and parents. As a result most of the women are deprived of proper treatment.