The Policy Café on women’s safety in public places will air on Friday
Rumi (pseudonym) was going to the toilet from his cabin in a speedboat bound for Barishal from Dhaka. At the end of the night journey, she would reach her beloved home in the morning.
But, a man continued to stalk her from the moment she boarded the ship. Coming out of the toilet, she noticed that the man was standing in front of the cabin door.
Rumi figured out his evil motive that once she opened the door, he would push her into the cabin with him.
She started screaming for help. But, the people who came forward hearing the cry said nothing to the man. Instead, they returned the verdict against her, saying it was foolish of her to come out of the cabin in the middle of the night. Then a salvo of criticism was fired at his attire.
Although the sensational Suhrawardy Udyan incident during the Pahela Baishakh festival or the Narsingdi station case stole the show, Rumi’s incident is one of many that are buried with victims.
Therefore, the safety of women in public places is a concern not only in Bangladesh but also worldwide.
As Bangladesh moves up the World Economic Forum’s Gender Equality Index, strict measures are being taken against such incidents.
Young Bangla, the Research and Information Center (CRI) Youth Platform, the UNDP Human Rights Program and the National Human Rights Commission conducted a campaign on the safety of women in places public.
The campaign was launched with the aim of inculcating a positive attitude towards women’s safety in public places among stakeholders, young people and citizens.
To this end, young activists exchanged views with policymakers at a political advocacy event titled “Women’s Safety in Public Places” at the end of a campaign to be aired on private television. Somoy tomorrow (August 26, 2022).
The discussion between the political level and the youth was attended by Minister of Justice Anisul Huq.
The Mayor of the Dhaka North City Corporation, Atiqul Islam, and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Bangladesh, Van Nguyen also spoke on the show.
Executive Director and Founder of Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) Rokeya Kabir, Deputy Inspector General (Protection and Protocol) Bangladesh Police Special Branch Amena Begum, Executive Director Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) Neelima Akhter, National Human Jesmin Ara Begum, Honorary Member of the Rights Commission, and Md Helal Uddin, President of the Bangladesh Traders Association took part in the panel discussion.
A recorded speech by NHRC President Nasima Begum was played during the programme.
The awareness campaign titled “Women’s Safety in Public Places” began its journey on October 14, 2020.
CRI President, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, CRI Administrator and Vice-President, Saima Wazed, and CRI Administrator, Radwan Mujib Siddiq expressed their solidarity with the campaign.
The campaign was conducted online in addition to the field.
At the field campaign level, 10 Young-Bangla affiliated organizations worked in 10 different districts – Dhaka, Narayanganj, Barishal, Patuakhali, Khulna, Narail, Chattogram, Rangamati, Bogura and Rajshahi.
In these districts, meetings were organized involving 2,200 volunteers supervised by 29 trainers.
A total of 11,500 people from different backgrounds such as like-minded youth organizations, local journalists, shopkeepers and trade union associations, civil society and public transport workers participated in these meetings.
To date, the campaign has reached 12 million people through online and on-the-ground interventions.
Under the initiative of CRI, “Policy Café” has been working as the voice of young people at the country’s policy-making level for eight years.
It is the most popular platform for young people to voice their demands and opinions on the country’s policy-making.
It is the bridge between policy makers and young people offering discussions on all issues concerning national development and opportunities.
