Law needed to stop acts of discrimination
The passage of an antidiscrimination act will not fix the discriminatory mindsets of people but it will prevent them from acting on their predispositions, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman said yesterday.
While the law would be a milestone towards ensuring the rights of Dalits, a discrimination-free society will require broadening of people's minds, he told a roundtable on the human rights and social dignity of the Dalit people, at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.
The event was organised by ActionAid Bangladesh and Regional Antyaja Forum (RAF).
In June, the Law Commission recommended formulation of a law to prevent discrimination against Dalits, adivasis, cleaners, tea-garden labourers, hermaphrodites (hijras), people with disabilities, and sex workers, but no visible step has been taken yet.
According to the recommendations, the law would provide for a fine of up to Tk 10 lakh or 10 years' imprisonment to anyone guilty of committing an act of discrimination.
The NHRC chief said the initiative did not come from the government, but people.
He said that though the Dalit people cleaned the whole city, they did not get the full payment, as they were not officially employed. “Bangalee sub-contractors always skim off the top of their salary,” he added.
Urging immediate passing of the law, ActionAid Bangladesh's Executive Board Member M Hafizuddin Khan said the conscious people must see to it that the act was enforced.
Taposhi Sarkar, secretary of Nari Antyaja Parishad, said her people, Dalits, were treated as untouchables almost everywhere in the country. “Even the barbers refuse to cut our hair while our children are discriminated against and insulted in school every day,” she said.
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