Change mindset to stop violence against women
Speakers at a workshop yesterday underscored the need to change the attitude towards women in order to stop violence against them.
They also called for implementing the existing laws and raising awareness among the people to curb repression on women.
With a view to creating awareness among college and university students, the department of women affairs organised the workshop on 'Gender, reproductive health and violence against women' at its auditorium in the city.
Speaking as the chief guest, Women and Children Affairs Secretary Rokeya Sultana said enacting law is not enough to eliminate discrimination against woman. "First of all, we will have to change our mindset for development of women."
She said the government is going to launch a number of programmes, including community-based policing system to tackle violence against women.
The programmes include a separate project for girl children to ensure their safety and security, one-stop crisis centre in six medical colleges in the country.
Director General of Women Affairs Directorate Ikram Ahmed and Director Mokhlesur Rahaman took part in the programme which was moderated by Additional Director of Women Affairs Directorate Nurul Kabir Siddiqui.
Prof Sadeka Halim of Dhaka University said government officials, including judicial members, should be educated about the state obligations to secure women's rights in the UN conventions.
She said law enforcement agencies, especially police, should be sensitised and provided with training to change their attitude towards women, and failure to deal with cases of violence properly be considered a misconduct and a negative point in time of promotion.
“The government should introduce as well as enforce sexual harassment laws or code of conduct to protest women from harassment at all workplaces, private sector must have similar code of conduct and expand available services like shelter centre, one-stop crisis centre and rehabilitation centre.” she added.
She said the most important thing is the rethinking of the male role. Men must re-evaluate their role in the family as well as in the society. They may be organised to examine cultural and social assumptions on masculinity and develop strategies to help men curb violent behaviour.
Dr Yasmin Jahan, senior scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, said the government should take more initiatives to launch awareness programmes for girls and primary education should be mandatory for them.
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