Leadership of women must for protection of tea workers

Women must have leadership positions at all levels of tea workers' unions and all executive committees to enhance social protection of female workers at tea gardens, said speakers at a roundtable discussion held in Sylhet marking International Women's Day yesterday.

The roundtable discussion, titled 'Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a Covid-19 World', was jointly organised by four stakeholders of Joint SDG Fund — United Nations (UN) Women, United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and International Labour Organization (ILO).

"Besides women in leadership, gender-based data of workers involved in tea industry; ensuring female tea workers' and their families' special needs and demand through social safety programmes and services; and building awareness about gender discrimination and women empowerment are necessary interventions," said, Tapati Saha, Programme Analyst of Women's Economic Empowerment at UN Women in Bangladesh.

Speakers said that tea workers belong to an extremely marginalised community who are deprived of proper healthcare, education, labour safety, standard working environment and social protection services.

By empowering female tea garden workers into leadership, social barriers can be removed in sectors such as maternal healthcare, children's education, adolescent women's health and nutrition and involvement in decision-making process, speakers said at the discussion hosted by UNFPA Technical Officer Dr Animesh Biswas.

In the discussion, Kazi Dil Afroza Islam, Sylhet divisional chief of UNICEF; Mahmuda Akther, an adolescent club member from a tea garden in Moulvibazar; Limon Lohar, an adolescent club member from a tea garden in Sylhet; Jesmin Akther, vice-president of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union; Srimati Bauri, vice-president (Juri Valley) of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union and Raju Gowala, president (Sylhet Valley) of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union spoke.

Among others, Al Azad, president of Sylhet Press Club and Iqbal Siddique, president of Sylhet Press Club spoke while Alexius Chicham, national programme coordinator of UN SDG programme for tea sector of ILO give a review speech.