Subarnachar residents unite to prevent violence against women

Local public representatives, administrative officials, police and youth of Subarnachar, Noakhali came together on Monday at a multilateral dialogue and took an oath to prevent violence against women.

Participants called for grassroots action as well as citizens’ active involvement to prevent violence against women.

They also demanded the end of anti-woman speeches in all kinds of meetings and conventional religious gatherings, and to start judicial investigations in cases of sexual harassment.

This dialogue, titled “In Search of Strategies to Protest-Prevent-Resist Violence Against Women,” was held at the Subarnachar Upazila Complex Auditorium, reads a press release.

The dialogue was jointly organised by Participatory Research Action Network (PRAN) and ActionAid Bangladesh with the support of the United Nations Population Fund as part of the 16 Days of Activism global campaign.

Facilitated by Nurul Alam Masud, CEO of PRAN, Torikul Alam, additional district commissioner of Noakhali, Additional Police Super Khaled Ibn Malek, AHS Ibnul Hasan, UNO of Subarnachar upazila, Taslima Akhter, deputy manager of ActionAid Bangladesh, and Upazila Vice Chairman Salma Chowdhury were present at the event.

Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, joined the dialogue virtually.

According to the organisers, over the past few years, rape, gang-rape, kidnapping, sexual harassment, dowry, death by husbands' torture, murder and other forms of violence against women have increased at an alarming rate.

This picture is more horrible in Noakhali, where in October alone, there were 41 incidents of violence against women, including 19 rapes in Noakhali district.

Protests erupted across the country after a video of a woman being tortured in the district went viral on social media. Subarnachar upazila has come under discussion a significant number of times in the last two years due to the recurrence of violence against women.

The speakers said that violence against women is having a negative impact on the lives of all, including both men and women, thus all in Subarnachar.

The incidence of torture in the region is on the rise due to various reasons, such as lack of justice, harmful practice of power, patriarchal attitude, lack of family education and social awareness, etc.

Speakers called for the implementation of the anti-violence cell in all public and private institutions, including educational institutions, the signing of the CEDAW and its full implementation, and the abolition of all discriminatory laws and practices against women.

It is important to ensure that women who are victims of violence should not be subjected to repeated psychological abuse by socialising in their own community, and ensuring legal security for them, they further said.