'We are helpless'

Elected women vice-chairmen of upazila parishads yesterday alleged they did not get proper cooperation from male colleagues and executive officers and eventually face challenges in discharging their duties.

The government has allocated three percent allocation from the upazila's annual development projects for the Women Development Forum, but they do not get that properly and cannot run the projects they are supposed to implement, they added.

They demanded that the government send the three percent allocation directly to the bank accounts of the Women Development Forum.

They raised their voice at a daylong workshop at the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner's Office. The workshop was organised by Upazila Governance Project where women vice-chairmen from 69 upazilas of Dhaka division took part.

The Women Development Forum (WDF) alleged that upazila chairmen and upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) could not accept the activities of the WDF.

The WDFs were formed with the aim of enhancing capacity of the elected women representatives in union parishads, upazila parishads and municipalities. The forums also aim at empowering women and ensuring their leadership and participation in local government institutions.

“As per a circular, the Women Development Forum should get three percent from the upazila annual development budget, but I did not get that last year or this year,” Sheikh Farida Zahan, female vice-chairman of Sreepur upazila in Gazipur, alleged.

She further said, “When I asked for the allocation, the upazila chairman said 'what is the women development forum?' When I asked the UNO, he said he cannot allocate money without the permission of the upazila chairman.”

Farida added, “We are repressed inside the house, outside the house and even repressed by the upazila chairmen. How are we supposed to work for women development?”

Kamrun Nahar Luna, vice-chairman from Kishoreganj, urged the government to hike the allocation from three percent to five percent.

She also suggested that the government increase financial and administrative assistance to stop child marriage.

Tangail Sadar Upazila Vice-Chairman Layla Akter Lipi said if the WDF was empowered enough to implement the projects independently, it would be better as it would save money and time.

They also alleged that they were not allowed to take part in the district law enforcement meetings.

Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Helal Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the programme attended by other senior officials.