General Secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad Maleka Banu told Journalist that people are spontaneously raising their voice against long standing discriminatory laws and cultural practices, which gives all women rights defenders hope for 2022
UNB: The Covid-19 pandemic continued to reverse progress on girls’ and women’s rights throughout 2021. However, women showed tremendous strength and courage throughout the year in fighting the setbacks.
Female sports persons, scientists, journalists, and other professionals showed that they can still bring honor to the country even when they have to cross a rocky path.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad Maleka Banu told Journalist that people are spontaneously raising their voice against long standing discriminatory laws and cultural practices, which gives all women rights defenders hope for 2022.
How women became leaders in building the post-pandemic world
The global health crisis cast a dark shadow over women’s rights. Domestic violence was off the charts, child marriage increased significantly, many girls were on the verge of dropping out of school, and women were overburdened with both housework and office work.
Despite these barriers, many women took the responsibility of providing for their families with small online businesses, scientists played pivotal roles in Covid-19 research, and journalists unearthed official corruption in the government’s Covid response.
Young footballers’ gift to Bangladesh on 50th anniversary of victory
Bangladeshi girls continued their domination in regional football as they became champions in the Saff U-19 football championship by beating India in the final in 2021.
Congratulations poured in for the young footballers when the news came in. Women rights activists said it takes tremendous effort and courage to shine in sports in a society which is not always appreciative of female sportspersons.
Captain Maria Manda, who showed brilliant skill throughout the match, said their victory is a gift to Bangladesh on the 50th anniversary of its victory in the Liberation War.
Victim blaming, repressive social practices continue
Victim blaming continues to be commonplace in Bangladeshi society, especially when a woman becomes a victim of sexual violence and abuse.
People took to the streets against rape in 2020 , and this year was a year of resistance against unjust laws, social and cultural practices against women.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs received a lot of criticism when it suggested that female officials should be barred from giving the guard of honour to dead freedom fighters, citing religious restrictions.
The government decided to scrap the provision in the 1872 Evidence Act that allows for the victim’s character to be questioned in a rape case. The amendment bill for the law is likely to be tabled in parliament during the session in January.
Women’s rights activists see this as a start to scrapping all the centuries-old patriarchal laws against women.
The woman who become the Most Resilient Journalist 2021
Senior reporter of the daily Prothom Alo newspaper Rozina Islam, who is facing a case filed under the Official Secrets Act by the Health Ministry, won this year’s Free Press Award for courageous journalism. She won the award under the “Most Resilient Journalist 2021” category.
Charges of “stealing” official documents and “taking photographs” of documents were brought against this award-winning investigative journalist, who was kept confined allegedly by some Health Ministry officials for five long hours inside an official’s room at the Secretariat on May 17.
An FIR was filed against Islam under the Official Secrets Act and Sections 379 and 411 of The Penal Code on a complaint filed by the Health Services Division with Shahbagh police station. She is now on bail and has returned to her workplace to continue writing investigative reports.
Many girls may not return to school
Many girls across the country long to rejoin schools alongside other children but are unable to do so as they were married off during the 18-month-long pandemic-induced school closures. Experts fear that most of these girls will never be allowed to continue their education.
There are no countrywide data on how many girls dropped out due to child marriage. However, some district data show the bleak picture of child marriage and its impact on girls’ education.
For example, around 3,178 girls, mostly school-goers, were married off between March 2020 and September 2021, according to Bagerhat Education Officer Md Kamruzzaman.
Women shine in the STEM sector
Female scientists continued to bring honours and accolades for Bangladesh in 2021. Bangladeshi scientist Dr Firdausi Qadri, who has been instrumental in developing vaccines that have saved millions of lives, won the Ramon Magsaysay Award this year.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honour and is widely regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize and is given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the eradication of poverty and the development of society in Asia.
