31pc of indigenous people do not have house
Study shows
Staff Correspondent
Twelve percent of indigenous households have been forced to sell their lands or tricked out of their lands by vested quarters, according to a study conducted by Care Bangladesh and Gram Bikash Kendra (GBK).The study also showed that 31 percent of indigenous people do not have house and 61 percent do not have any cultivable land. The findings of the 'Northwest Indigenous Livelihoods Study 2004' were presented at a seminar in the city yesterday. The study focussed on the livelihood challenges of the indigenous people living in the northwestern part of the country. Most indigenous people lost their lands during the period from 1970 to 1980 and the vested quarters gobbled up the lands through making false document, said M Zakaria, technical coordinator of Livelihood Monitoring Project of Care Bangladesh, while presenting the study. Indigenous women are socially vulnerable and the incidents of discrimination against and harassment of them at workplaces are on the rise, he said. The study also revealed that seven percent of the households has one woman each, who fell victim to rape in the last year. It also said 81 percent of the households depend on traditional health practices and indigenous people have little confidence on upazila and district hospitals. According to the findings, 86 percent of the indigenous children are enrolled in primary schools, but only 64 percent of them completed the primary level of education. "About 75 percent of indigenous parents are unaware of pre-school education and the Bengali language is a barrier for indigenous children since they speak native dialects in their homes," said Arifa S Sharmin, Manager of external relations of Care. Bhupen Das, project officer of GBK, also spoke.
| 
