A press conference was held in Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah Hall, National news Club, Dhaka, on December 10, 2024, at 11:30 AM.. Organized by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) under the theme “Bring Equality in Family Law, Prevent Violence Against Women,” it marked the International Fortnight for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and World Human Rights Day. Dr. Fauzia Moslem, President of BMP, moderated, and Rekha Saha, Legal Aid Secretary, presented the keynote paper.
Rekha Saha highlighted that data from 16 national newspapers, spanning January to November 2024, revealed 2,362 women, including 1,036 girls, suffered violence. Alarming increases in female homicides were evident, with 486 women and girls murdered for various reasons. Despite protests and numerous laws and policies, these issues persist, signaling a need for long-term collective action of families, communities, and the state. The keynote paper emphasised on advocating for integrating anti-violence efforts with gender sensitivity and youth involvement in the women’s movement. BMP introduced 25 recommendations to address this crisis.
In response, Joint General Secretary Advocate Masuda Rehana noted that despite having numerous women-friendly laws, implementation very weak. She called for reforms in family laws, judicial systems, and a gender justice system. She stressed that long-term state planning and improvements in the witness protection law are essential to properly penalize the offenders.
Rekha Saha highlighted that unreported incidences violence against women surpass media-reported cases, posing a serious problem. She emphasized that preventing such violence requires not only women’s movements but also a broad social movement to end tolerance in violence.
General Secretary Maleka Banu emphasized that settling rape cases through arbitration is completely illegal and called for rightful justice through conventional legal means.
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In her concluding remarks, President Dr. Fauzia Moslem emphasized that the reported cases of violence are merely a small portion of the true occurrences. She pointed out the lengthy legal procedures that frequently allow offenders to evade punishment and deny victims their rights. She urged journalists to highlight these issues in the media and raise public awareness to fight violence against women, also stress on need of state accountablity.
Along with leaders and officials from the Central and Dhaka City Committees of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP), about 150 journalists from both print and electronic media, attended the press conference and raised questions related to the issues of keynote paper. Advocate Dipti Shikdar, the Acting Director of Legal Advocacy and Lobby, conducted the event.
