Law enforcers’ negligence to blame

Violence by Bangalees, including killing, rape and sexual assaults, against indigenous women and girls continues in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as negligence of law enforcers allowed past perpetrators to go scot-free, speakers told a discussion yesterday.
Since Kalpana Chakma's abduction and disappearance 16 years ago, Bangladesh as a state apparently failed to ensure security for indigenous women, both in the hills and plains, they said.
In order to stop the violence, alongside the abduction, arson and looting, mostly centring land grabbing, the government must prepare an action plan and announce how it will be implemented, they said.
Moreover, the CHT Peace Accord 1997 must be implemented and a separate land commission for indigenous people living in the plains must be formed, they added.
Hill Women's Federation's Dhaka city unit organised the discussion in the capital's WVA Auditorium on the eve of Human Rights Day. The unit President Jenny Bom read out a keynote paper "Human Rights of Indigenous Women: Perspective Discrimination and Violence".
Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha Member Secretary Rokeya Kabir demanded that the government adheres to the UN declaration on the rights on indigenous peoples by, in collaboration with indigenous people, ensuring safety and security for indigenous women and children.
Rakhi Das Purakayastha of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad demanded implementation of the commitments and intentions regarding protecting rights of indigenous women and girls expressed by all past governments.
Indigenous women are more repressed and marginalised than other women for five factors — ethnicity, gender, religion, regionalism and language, said Associate Prof Robaet Ferdous of Dhaka University's mass communication and journalism department.
Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti member Dipayan Khisa said only an organised political movement can ensure women their rights.