Pandemic especially hard on indigenous women: Speakers at MJF webinar
Speakers at a webinar today said that the Covid-19 pandemic has harmed the overall lives and livelihood of indigenous women. Titled "Livelihood Crisis and Security of Indigenous Women in Covid-19", the webinar was organised by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).
The discussions revolved around how many indigenous women faced a reduction in their income, due to the closure of the parlours and tourism businesses, while many were unable to sell agro products in the market or run their small businesses, which resulted in increased vulnerabilities.
Domestic violence against indigenous women has also increased in this period, due to income reduction and job cuts, they added. However, very few of them received any assistance from the government, while they lack any special incentive in the current budget, they pointed out.
Falguni Tripura, coordinator, Bangladesh Indigenous Women's Network presented the keynote at the webinar and said, "An indigenous woman becomes the victim of multifaceted discrimination -- firstly as a woman, secondly as an indigenous person, and thirdly as an indigenous woman. In addition, due to various discriminatory policies and the patriarchal system of society, indigenous women are not kept involved in the decision-making process."
She also mentioned that 72 percent of indigenous women working in the informal sector lost their job in the pandemic, while 92 percent faced an income reduction. Those who migrated to the village had to maintain their livelihoods by working as day labourers. Those who returned to the city couldn't manage a decent job, she added.
According to a survey of MJF, only 25 percent of the indigenous families in the plains, including the three hill districts, have received government incentives in the pandemic, she highlighted.
Shaheen Anam, executive director of MJF chaired the event and she said that the indigenous women both in the hill tracts and plain lands are more vulnerable to any kind of violence. "And this violence is premediated. The lack of security is still a big concern for them," she said.
Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) executive director Dr Shamsul Huda said that around three months ago, Prof Dr Abul Barkat from his study said that almost 70 percent of the plain and 80 percent of the hills' indigenous people became poor after the emergence of Covid-19.
He added that the distribution of government support must include indigenous women, and only the announcement of the incentive is not enough, rather the government should ensure that the incentive has reached the right people.
Aroma Dutt MP in her chief guest speech said that we are yet to feel the pain and deprivation of indigenous women. "It is necessary to identify the systemic problem as to why the government incentives were not distributed properly during the lockdown. We have to work together to solve the problem and reach them by dividing them into zones," she said.
Advocate Sultana Kamal, the former adviser to the caretaker government, joined the webinar as a special guest and she said the current government is thinking about the indigenous people, but this is also true that the state is yet to ensure equality for all citizens.
"We have to raise the question of why we have not yet passed the Discrimination Elimination Act," she said.
Dr Sadeka Halim, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka said there's a need for scientific research on violence against women in the hills and plain land.
"Due to the absence of any ministry, no information is coming to our notice. An indigenous committee should be formed immediately," she said.
Sanjeeb Drong, secretary, Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, Rani Yan Yan, Chakma Circle adviser, Tahera Jabeen, Social Development Adviser at Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) Bangladesh, among others, spoke at the event, moderated by Evelina Chakma, programme coordinator of MJF.
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