Rights activists and other speakers at a meeting on Thursday called for enactment of a law to prevent sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
The call came at an exchange-of-views meeting on 鈥楶reventing sexual harassment and gender-based violence,鈥� organised by legal aid and human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra at the capital鈥檚 CIRDAP auditorium.
They also said that although a 鈥楧raft law for the prevention and protection against sexual harassment in workplaces and educational institutions鈥� was prepared, it had yet to be finalised and passed.聽
Asma Khanom Ruba, coordinator of Awareness, Actions, and Advocacy for Gender-Equal and Safe Spaces for Women and Girls Project, known as AGNEE, presented the project鈥檚 findings at the meeting, revealing that 213 women faced sexual harassment in Gazipur and 85 women in Rajshahi district in 2024.
In Gazipur, 116 women faced sexual abuse in educational and other institutions, 35 experienced it online, and 17 in public transports. In Rajshahi, nine women faced sexual abuse in educational and other institutions, while another nine experienced it online.聽聽
A total of 776 people faced gender-based violence in Rajshahi and 604 in Gazipur in 2024, she added.聽
Presiding over the event, eminent lawyer ZI Khan Panna said that many claimed that Bangladesh鈥檚 constitution was a substitution of India鈥檚, which was not true.
鈥極ur constitution is more advanced than India鈥檚. It鈥檚 not that the constitution of any country is bad. However, the fundamental rights provided in our constitution are not taught to the police. What the police are taught is how to use force,鈥� he said.
He also said that instilling of a mindset in all against any form of violence against women was the most important thing in preventing such sexual harassment and gender-based violence against women.
