Government works for women’s rights, says Hasina

The government is working to translate feminist thinker and activist Begum Rokeya’s dream to establish women’s rights into reality, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina commented on violence against women during an event to mark Begum Rokeya Day and the Rokeya Award 2019 ceremony on Monday.

Violence against women and children has spread like a “psychological disease”, said Hasina.

“It is men who torture women. They must remember that they have daughters as well. What if their daughters get tortured by someone else? How would they feel?”

Only the law cannot prevent violence against women and children, Hasina said as she called for everyone to help prevent the social scourge.

“Bangladesh has made a mark in economic and social sectors by ensuring women’s empowerment and gender equity. We have to continue the achievement.”

“We’ve set up 100 economic zones in the country. We’ve offered special benefits for the women entrepreneurs there. We want women to come forward and work in every sector.”

The government is working to realise the dream of Begum Rokeya for establishing women’s rights, said Hasina.

She recalled Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s role in the rehabilitation of women victims of torture by the Pakistani forces during the Liberation War.

Bangabandhu formed a panel for their rehabilitation and allocated a separate budget for them, she said. He brought in nurses from Switzerland and doctors from Germany and England for the treatment of those women tortured during the war.

After the war, some women were well received by their families while some were discarded, said the prime minister.

“My mother arranged the marriages of those war-ravaged women abandoned by their families. She always felt for those women,” Hasina said recalling Begum Fazilatunnessa Mujib’s contribution.

To bring a positive change to society, the establishment of the rights for men and women is not enough, but it is necessary to ensure work opportunities for both, she said. “Half of the people in Bangladesh are women. The nation cannot develop itself as long as the women are left behind.”