Women reps decry discrimination

Bigger electorate entails greater responsibility and role, elected women leaders of local government level reminded their male counterpart and demanded the updating of what they called flawed law that left them inactive.             
They told a meet--attended by politicians cutting across the political divide and policy promoters-that removal of the barriers from the Upazila Parisad Act would give them due rights to work for the people who voted for them.
They argued that their accountability to people is higher than elected male colleagues for being elected from wider areas.
"We are often told and excused from local-level work on pleas that the government does not provide us written power to work in different development works," said one of them during a seminar Monday.
Fronting the banner 'Women Political Empowerment: Prospect and Challenges', the national seminar was organized jointly by Steps Towards Bangladesh, Democracy Watch, Khan Foundation and Prip Trust with assistance of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at the CIRDAP auditorium.
Awami League presidium member Dr Nuh-Ul-Alam Lenin, Joint Secretary- General of BNP Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Executive President of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Moinuddin Khan Badal MP, Member of Parliament in reserved seat Selina Jahan Lita and former CG adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury, among others, spoke at the meet. STEPS Executive Director Ranjan Karmakar presided.
Vice-chairmen of different upazilas, including Jhalakati, Sherpur, Chauddagram, Magura and Narsingdi also spoke from among the elected leaders. They included Israt Jahan Sonali, Salma Islam Shifa and Rasheda Begum.
Salma Islam Shifa of Jhalakati Upazila Parishad said female leaders in the local government level are active and cooperate with their male colleagues. But, she regretted, the males deprive them of the government facilities necessary for carrying out development activities in their respective areas.
Rashida Akhter of Chauddagram Upazia said though women leaders do not misuse power, the male colleagues continued their non-cooperation in distributing work.
Nargis Sultana of Magura Upazila said incorporating the rights into the law would help the women leaders to fight against the male colleagues.
Selina Jahan MP said women leaders at local level are advancing despite many odds and earned reputation in their leadership.
The seminar was told that women achievement in political empowerment has uplifted the country's status as 7th politically empowered nation in the Global Gender Gap Report 2013.
Women are now found as ministers, speaker, MPs, ambassador, judge, vice chancellor along with in the field of agriculture, army, police, driving and so on.
The more women's political empowerment, the more positive environment would be created for women in the country, the speakers noted.    

smunima@yahoo.com