Students' Security: Nahid calls for social movement
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday urged all to join a social movement in order to ensure security for female students.
He made this appeal during a press briefing to announce a two-day programme at educational institutions across the country for raising awareness in this regard.
The education minister announced the programme in the wake of countrywide recent violent attacks on female students -- Khadiza Begum Nargis, a student of Sylhet Government Women's College, being the latest victim of such attack. She is now undergoing treatment in a critical state at a hospital in the capital.
During the briefing, held at Krishibid Institution auditorium in the capital, the minister said the first day of the programme will be held on October 18, when students will form human chains on all educational institution premises for 15 minutes.
On the second day of the programme, on October 20, mass-awareness meetings will be held in all the institutions, he added. "Teachers and students will join hands in the human chains to pay respect to the female students who were killed [by the attackers] and to pray for the recovery of those who have been injured. The trial of those human-looking beasts [the offenders] will also be sought at that same time."
Local people from all walks of life will attend the mass-awareness meetings on October 20, when they will chalk out future programmes for raising social awareness for the security of female students in their neighbourhoods, said Nahid. "These programmes will initiate a social movement."
A committee will be formed following the meeting so the programmes are continued on a regular basis. Besides, the committee will help in ensuring protection of female students, issue warnings to deter potentially menacing individuals and, if required, hand over the offenders to law enforcers, the minister said.
The committee, when unable to issue a warning to a menacing individual or an offender at his address, will hold his parents responsible for any consequences, he added.
"This type of violence cannot happen in any civilized society," Nahid said, referring to incidents of violence against female students including Khadiza Begum Nargis of Sylhet Government Women's College in Sylhet, Suraiya Akter Risha of Willes Little Flower School in Dhaka and Sohagi Jahan Tonu of Comilla Victoria College in Comilla.
Such heinous attacks on girls made people worried, saddened and furious, the education minister said. "Those committing these brutal acts are enemies of the society, miscreants and hideous individuals. They are beasts under the guise of human beings.
We demand those, who are already arrested and those who aren't yet, are brought to book and punished. This will give people hope and also set an example that no one will get away with committing crimes such as this."
The law will take its own course, but a strong voice has to be raised through a social movement to eradicate all sorts of violence against women, he said.
Asked about the delay in the Tonu murder trial, the education minister said he also thought the progress was slow and he looked forward to seeing swift trial in the case.
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