Awareness on misuse of ICT may prevent harassment of women

With advancements in and increasing use of information and communication technology, women are empowering themselves, communicating with their families abroad and receiving foreign remittance from them while those in the garment sector are sending income to their families.
Meanwhile, due to abuse of such information and communication technology, women are also becoming victims of harassment.
Against such a backdrop, speakers at a roundtable yesterday said a collective effort must be taken to stop such violence against women.
Bangla daily Prothom Alo and Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (BFWE) jointly organised the roundtable, “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to Stop Violence Against Women”, at the daily in the capital.
During a multimedia presentation, ICT expert Munir Hasan informed of a recent survey which found that around 2.5 crore of 10 crore cellphones functioning in the country had cameras while 1.2 million of around 5.4 million Bangladeshi Facebook users, until August 14, were females.
As the use of camera-enabled cellphones and Facebook rises, people must become more aware on preventing their misuse, he added.
Former adviser to a caretaker government and BFWE President Rokia Afzal Rahman said by empowering themselves, women were helping their families.
When success comes, it brings money, cellphones and so on but women have to be careful about misuse of their cellphones, she said.
Another former adviser to a caretaker government Rasheda K Chowdhury said technology was like a sharp knife. A criminal would use it to kill someone, while a surgeon would use it to save lives, she said.
Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said technology has been recognised as a tool for women empowerment. Women need support from all, including their families, to prevent violence against them, she said.
Abul Hossain, project director of Multi-Sectoral Programme on Violence Against Women under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, informed that a helpline -- 10921 -- was present to provide immediate support to victims and their families.
Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman assured to organise more discussions and roundtables featuring representatives from different sectors to strengthen social awareness to stop violence against women.
Javed Morshed, a cyber crime expert, and Shamima Parveen, senior programme officer, UNFPA, spoke at the programme.