Poverty alleviation a must to make girl children productive citizens

Parvez Babul

Every year since 2000 the nation observes national girl child day and this year's theme is: "Girl children will grow up in safe and pleasant environment". Different socio-cultural organisations across the country organised various programmes in observance of the day. But the fact is: girls are not safe even at their families and they do not have any pleasant environment to grow up at all.
   In Bangladesh a large number of children are deprived of their basic human rights due to unacceptable health, nutrition and education as well as social conditions. In addition, children are exposed to severe forms of physical and mental violence at home, in the work place, in institutions and other places. The nature and extent of violence against children irrespective of age, sex and class has been increasing. On the whole, children are not safe despite efforts made by government and non-government organisations in ensuring the rights of the children.
   UNICEF, a UN body dedicated to the cause of world's children, has undertaken a groundbreaking initiative to simplify the process of bilateral repatriation of trafficking victims, establish uniform procedures and ensure the best possible care while under government or non-government cares.
   We will have to treat the girls as our assets and human resource like boys instead of thinking them burden. If we can make our girl children smile with joy, they will make our next generations smile, happy and healthy and thus the world will be free from discrimination and violence against them. In fact, our girl children face various problems and barriers at every step of their lives in every where, starts from their family. If we save the lives of girls, provide necessary care, education and employment, they will save our next generations. It is a continuous process. Now, our duty is to make the family, society, educational institutions, country and overall environment friendly to the girls for making 100 per cent girls educated for a changed, developed and better Bangladesh. We will have to prepare our minds to welcome the girls while they are in wombs, save their lives, take proper care and educate them.
   Let us recall and keep in mind an Irish Saying: "A son is a son till he takes a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life". Architect of women's education of our country Begum Rokeya wrote one hundred years ago in her book Sultana's Dream, "We have no hand or voice in the management of our social affairs. In India man is lord and master, he has taken to himself all powers and privileges and shut up the women in the zenana".
   
   Girls' education and poverty
   The quality of education is also a significant issue, closely linked to the state of girls' education. Girls' safety and security in the learning environment are essential. Sanitation is important. Good management generates higher quality education. Giving girls' education increased support and recognition also has an intergenerational impact. Educated mothers educate their daughters and sons. This is an invaluable outcome of basic education and key to achieving the goal of Education for All.
   Also children with disabilities faced problems while enrolling in educational institutions. In addition, we treat the persons with disabilities as double burden. But the fact is: they are differently able. That is why steps are needed to take for them so that they get education, training and jobs to be self-reliant and empowered. Appropriate policy at the national level should be formulated for the inclusion of children with disabilities especially girls in the mainstream education.
   Poverty is at the root of most of our problems: malnutrition and other diseases, child labour, early marriage, neglecting the girls and women, but preferring the sons or boys, child and women trafficking, commercial sex, street children, child beggars, discrimination and domestic violence etc. Thousands of children stay out of school because of poverty in our country. For those reasons, investing in poverty reduction and eradicating hunger are crucial to achieving MDGs (millennium development goals). Education is indispensable to achieving MDG 2, which is universal primary education. In addition, investment in education also supports MDG 3, which aims to establish gender equality and to empower women. It benefits as knowledge and learning spread. Extreme poverty, hunger eradication and solving other problems are a must to send and keep the girls in schools and encourage them creating safe and pleasant environment with safety and security for further education.
   The writer is a council member, National Girl Child Advocacy Forum. Email: parvezbabul@gmail.com

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An accused in the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case Col. (retd.) Khandakar Abdur Rashid's wife Mrs Zobaida Rashid, mother of Mehnaz Rashid, E-mail: zobaidarashid@yahoo.com, has transmitted an email message for publication to the Holiday regarding the persecution of her daughter Menhaz Rashid by the Government of Bangladesh.
   In her statement she said, Col. Abdur Rashid, one of the leaders of the "August 15 Revolution that ended the one-party dictatorship of the then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and set the country on its present Democratic course in 1975."
   The message adds, "The present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a daughter of late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by her own admission, came to politics to take revenge against her father's over-throwers and immediately after getting state power in 1996 began prosecuting the organisers of the August 15 Revolution regardless of the Indemnity afforded to them by the Constitution. Five Supreme Court Judges are currently hearing the appeal against the government case."
   The message further says, "Anticipating Sheikh Hasina's intention my husband left the country in 1996. In his absence I was implicated in the case and subjected to arrest and torture. Against that arrest and torture a letter requesting necessary international intervention was issued by the International Secretariat of l'Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT) titled 'violence against women'[vide case-BGD 240197 on January 24, 1997 ]. After this I was subjected to constant surveillance and harassment. Unable to bear the harassment and humiliation I also left the country. Our daughter Mehnaz had fought that legal battle on my behalf and personally earned Sheikh Hasina's hatred as well. She is now paying for her filial piety."
    "The Police picked up Mehnaz from our family home, together with her 4-month old baby daughter, on October 24, 2009. The pretext was a bomb attack on the car of Fazle Noor Tapash MP, a nephew of Sheikh Hasina, three days earlier in which Tapash and his driver escaped unhurt. The arrest was made purely on the basis of Tapash's stated hunch.
   "Mehnaz was kept under remand for 16 days in the custody of the Intelligent Branch. There she was kept separated from her baby daughter, denied lawyer and subjected to severe interrogation and physical torture. Unable to find any incriminating evidence, she has now been kept unlawfully in jail without any charge."
   She further said: "A number of media reports e.g. the daily Amader Samoy, (November 02, 2009) have revealed that the Intelligence Branch investigators have not found any evidence of involvement of anyone arrested so far on suspicion, including Mehnaz. Again on November 10 2009 almost all the media reported that the investigators are now suspecting involvement of certain army officers in the attack. "On the Bangladesh Dialogue programme of the BBC Bengali Service broadcast from the China-Bangladesh Friendship Centre, Dhaka on November 7, 20009 several participants openly condemned the government's latest attempt at Menhaz's character assassination."
   In conclusion Mrs Zobaida Rashid requested persons and bodies active in defence of human rights to intervene with the Bangladesh government and help release and save Mehnaz.

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Sweden seminar favours war crime trial

Anisur Rahman in Stockholm

Panelists at a seminar on Bangladesh held at Stockholm University last Saturday demanded the trial of war criminals during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971.
   Panelists included Pakistani columnist Dian Sial Chaudry, Swedish writer and PEN leader Maria Modig, Swedish Left Party MP Jakob Johnsson, Swedish Liberal Party MP and its general secretary Erik Ollehag, Bangladesh ambassador Imtiaz Ahmed, The Netherland based Global Human Rights Degfence representative Jenny Lundstrom, journalist Sabbir Rahman Khan and cultural activist Taslima Moon spoke on the occasion.
   Journalist and Ekatturer Gathak Dalal Nirmul Committee chief Shahriar Kabir presented the keynote paper on 'Genocide 1971 and the Rise of Islamic Militancy' at the function chaired by Aktar M Zaman.
   Maria expressed her concern over the violation of human rights and the absence of freedom of expressions in Bangladesh.
   Jenny reflected the discriminations, torture and abuse over minority communities in Bangladesh.
   Imtiaz informed the audience as his government is sincere to combat militancy and terrorism in the country.

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