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The National Human Rights Commission chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed on Tuesday at its thematic committee meeting said that effective steps must be taken to improve the quality of life, social security and dignity of the people of marginalised communities.

The meeting on the ‘Rights of dalits, hijras and other communities those left behind’ held at the conference room of the commission, said a press release. 

Former lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badsha, Dhaka University history department professor Mesbah Kamal, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman, Bangladesh Adivasi Forum general secretary Sanjeeb Drong and members of the commission Md Salim Reza, Md Aminul Islam, Kongjari Chowdhury, Professor Biswajit Chanda and Tania Haque were present at the meeting.  

Kamal Uddin said that there was a need to focus on sustainable solutions to overcome the existing problems of land, housing, employment and livelihood of the Dalit community.

Mentioning that the commission has visited the site and taken practical and appropriate steps for the security and land rights protection of the Khasia community at Jhimaipunji, he said that steps should be taken to ensure right of residence of the dwellers of the Miranzilla Harijan Sweeper Colony in the capital’s Bangshal area until their relocation.

Eviction without ensuring the rehabilitation of a community amounts to deprivation of rights, he said.

In the context of underprivileged hijra community people, he said that misconceptions about them should be removed and social attitudes should be changed, mentioning that inclusion of these groups in education system and textbooks would help in building positive attitudes.

Regarding the omission of the subject of hijras in the textbooks, he said that the commission felt that there was no chance of such action being considered as a final solution. ‘The matter will arise in the future due to natural causes. Therefore, the commission disagrees with the said recommendation for logical reasons,’ he said.

Mentioning that all need to make a concerted effort to create social awareness and a positive outlook about the hijras, Habibur Rahman said, ‘If the subject is involved in the training of the training institutes it will bring positive results.’