Take effective steps to stop violence against women

Speakers at a human chain yesterday demanded effective action from the government to stop rape and all kinds of violence against women.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) organised the event in front of Jatiya Press Club in the capital as part of their 16-day programme (from November 25 to December 10), marking the period between International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and International Human Rights Day.

Mentioning that violence against women is on the rise in spite of different programmes, attendees urged political parties to pledge for empowerment of women through initiatives including increment of reserved seats in parliament, election for those seats, and implementation of National Women Development Policy 2011.

Ayesha Khanam, president of BMP, presided over the event while a number of women's rights activists spoke at the occasion.

“The country has developed in terms of GNP and GDP, with women playing an important role. But they [women] are still abused everywhere. We want to see what the political parties have promised for women in their electoral manifesto.”

As part of their campaign, they distributed leaflets, in which they demanded justice for rape victims through speedy trial tribunal, and implementation of Pornography Control Act 2012.

They also urged all political parties not to form alliances with war criminals, Jamaat, dictators and smugglers, and to ban religion-based politics.

In her address, Maleka Banu, general secretary of BMP, said, “Despite different programmes, violence against women is on the rise. The government should maintain zero tolerance to violence against women.”