The Transparency International Bangladesh on Sunday placed an 11-point charter of demands, including ensuring security for women in all educational institutions and workplaces, to prevent violence against women.
The government organisations, including police, should strengthen their training programmes so that they can prevent rape and protect women rights, said TIB Outreach and Communication department assistant coordinator Simum Moushumi Bristy while reading out a written statement titled 鈥楨liminate rape and violence against women and children鈥� at a human chain on Saturday morning in front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
鈥楻ape and torture on female children have now become a common affair across the country and the rate of such incidents has increased significantly,鈥� Simum Moushumi Bristy said, adding that women of all ages, including children, are becoming targets in all places, including houses, workplaces and educational institutions.
She alleged that it was not possible to build a discrimination-free society without proper enforcement of law regarding women and children, and without ensuring exemplary punishment for perpetrators.
The other demands include taking effective steps to prevent women and children rape, all kinds of sexual harassment, violence and discrimination keeping in line with the spirit of Students Movement Against Discrimination and 鈥楴ew Bangladesh鈥� and ensuring punishment for those involved in such crimes.
The TIB also demanded that political parties and their front bodies, professional organisations and all government and private organisations should take coordinated initiatives to ensure equal rights of men and women regardless of their ethnicity, cast and religion.
The demands also include not disclosing complainants鈥� names, ensuring women-friendly atmosphere for submission of allegations and resolving those following the High Court directives, taking public awareness programmes to create the positive mentality among people to prevent all kinds of violence against women and ensuring equal rights and to increase publicity and awareness programmes for receiving complaints through National Helpline and other hotline numbers. 聽聽
Countrywide protests against rape and all other forms of violence against women and children, meanwhile, continued for the 10th consecutive day.
The protests were triggered by the rape and death of an eight-year-old girl in Magura on March 6.
The victim died of cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital in the afternoon of March 13.
Addressing the human chain, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman demanded the government declare the victim鈥檚 death date as 鈥楻ape Prevention Day鈥�.
鈥業n the past 54 years of Independence, men had to earn everything what they got, but women did not get independence in reality,鈥� Iftekharuzzaman said, adding that if women had earned independence, they would not have become victims of rape and torture.
He also said that it was sad that women were being discriminated, especially after the anti-discrimination student movement.
Association for Land Reforms and Development executive director Shamsul Huda, among others, spoke at the human chain.
Different human rights and development organisations, including Manusher Jonno Foundation, Bondhu Social Welfare Society, Manabadhikar Songskrity Foundation, Waterkeepers Bangladesh, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Naripokkho, and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies expressed their solidarity with the human chain.
On Saturday, a Magura court recorded the confessional statement of the prime accused, Hitu Sheikh, over raping the eight-year-old girl on March 6 in the district.
The three other accused have been placed on remand in police custody.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Magura reported that over a hundred women and children under the banner of Save the Women and Children formed a human chain in front of the district press club in the afternoon demanding ensuring death penalty for the rapist of the eight-year-old girl in Magura as the victim confessed to his crime.
In Rajshahi, members of Sochetan Nagarik Committee formed a human chain in the Alupatti area in the city demanding an end to violence and oppresion against women and children, 抖阴精品 staff correspondent in Rajshahi reported.聽
Members of Youth Engagement and Support, Active Citizens Group, and Transparency International Bangladesh also joined the human chain expressing their solidarity.