Our right to sleep in peace
Although one’s ability to sleep peacefully has gained recognition as a right in many places across the world, Bangladesh continues to face significant challenges in guaranteeing peaceful sleep for its citizens
Far from being a frivolous activity that consumes a third of our lifetime, sleep plays a commanding role in ensuring our overall well-being. From post-lunch power naps to an uninterrupted good night's sleep, sleeping is integral to our existence and is crucial for our health.
Given the vital importance of sleep for our physical and mental well-being, there is a growing trend of recognising sleep as a right. The European Court of Human Rights ruling Hatton and Others v. the United Kingdom acknowledged sleep as a "right of fundamental importance," asserting that deprivation of sleep could be considered as a form of inhumane and degrading treatment or even torture under Article 3 of the ECHR.
The Indian Supreme Court took this concept further by declaring the right to sleep as an integral part of the right to life, safeguarded under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Recognising the importance of sleep, the court equated disturbance during sleep to torture and emphasised that every person has the right to sleep as comfortably and naturally as they breathe, eat and blink.
While similar decisions were made in 1998 and 2001 by Indian courts, the 2012 verdict was particularly noteworthy, as the Indian judiciary for the first time examined the right to sleep as a fundamental right.
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In 2007, the World Health Organisation (WHO) delineated seven categories of adverse health and social effects caused by noise pollution. Of these categories, sleep disturbances are recognised as the most detrimental non-auditory consequence that significantly impacts an individual's quality of life and daytime performance.
Moreover, as highlighted in the Church of God case in India, infants possess an inherent right to peaceful sleep at any hour of the day.
The courts of Bangladesh have not yet explicitly examined the right to sleep as a fundamental right. However, there is a scope to connect this right with the right to life as the apex court significantly broadened the application of the right to life in the Industrial Pollution Case, citing that it includes everything necessary to make a life meaningful and worth living.
Sleep is undoubtedly a crucial aspect of human life and well-being, and therefore it can be argued that the right to sleep is a fundamental component of the right to life and liberty.
Although one's ability to sleep peacefully has gained recognition as a right in many places across the world, Bangladesh continues to face significant challenges in guaranteeing peaceful sleep for its citizens. One of the significant causes is the unwarranted night-time noise pollution stemming from various sources, including construction work, fireworks, cultural events, and social and religious activities.
Every night, a substantial volume of noise pollution is generated from the aforementioned activities, jeopardising the well-being of the citizens of Bangladesh. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), such noise pollution can result in a plethora of physical and mental afflictions, including life-threatening circumstances — as was the case for Tanzim Umayer, a sleeping toddler who was frightened by the deafening noise of fireworks during the New Year's Eve celebrations and subsequently died.
Despite the severity, Bangladesh has failed to tackle the pervasive presence of night-time noise pollution. The rules prescribed in the Noise Pollution (Control) Rules 2006 are under-implemented and as a result, often fall short. The Rules set maximum sound levels of 45, 50, and 60 decibels for residential, mixed and commercial areas respectively, during the night-time period between 9 PM to 6 AM. Unfortunately, in reality, the sound level is much higher than the prescribed levels.
One significant flaw of the Rules is the complete exclusion of religious activities such as Waz-Mahfil, Kirtan and the unnecessary use of amplifiers in mosques beyond the call to prayer, thereby giving religious groups unrestricted leeway to manufacture noise pollution around the clock.
Due to this flaw, thousands of Waz-Mahfils take place across the country, mostly commencing after 6 PM and continuing until the early hours of the morning. Another major loophole in the Rules is the provision that permits the non-stop use of amplifiers on important national days, despite having a clear lack of justification.
Since the adoption of the Rules, effective implementation has remained a key issue, resulting in a glaring lack of substantial control over noise pollution arising from construction and social and cultural events at night. Although the Rules stipulate that construction work involving heavy machinery can continue until 7 PM, and social and cultural events are limited to a maximum of five hours until 10 PM, these rules are barely enforced in practice.
Considering the gravity of the matter, Bangladesh must bolster its efforts to combat noise pollution effectively with a particular emphasis on night-time noise pollution. To this end, amending the existing regulation is a vital step. Raising awareness and strengthening the capabilities of the regulatory bodies to enforce the Rules should be another positive step.
Golam Mostafa is a law graduate and currently working at the Youth Policy Forum (YPF).
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
