Dhaka: Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S Murshid has instructed the officials concerned of her ministry to send reports on violence against women and children across the country within 24 hours. She gave the instruction while addressing a press conference at the conference room of the Press Information Department (PID) at Bangladesh Secretariat here today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Sharmeen S Murshid emphasized that within 24 hours of receiving any report on violence against women and children, government officials will reach out to the victim to ensure necessary medical treatment and legal support. She also announced that a 16-day campaign to prevent violence against women will commence tomorrow and conclude on December 10. During this period, every officer and employee of her ministry will actively participate in preventing violence against women.
Murshid stated, "We don't sit with the media very frequently, but we intend to do so more regularly after today's event." She noted that although the upcoming campaign has an international origin, its significance in Bangladesh is immense. She highlighted the misuse of political power, where rulers commit oppression against women to serve political interests, such as land grabbing and influencing elections by imposing violence on communities, thereby putting women at risk.
Drawing from her 25 years of experience observing elections, Murshid described the adverse conditions faced by women, who often become victims of violence for various reasons. She stressed that in an enlightened society, respect for women and children is natural, but when this respect diminishes, societal decay follows. Over the past 16 years, under an authoritarian environment, there has been an extreme manifestation of this issue.
Murshid asserted that a country's treatment of women and children reflects its values. She recalled the July mass uprising, where nearly 70 percent of women took to the streets, astonishing both the nation and the world. This courageous expression demonstrated that women are not inferior to anyone else.