Rangpur: Leaders of Bangladesh Narimukti Kendra at a post-procession rally have called for launching a social movement to uphold the dignity and rights of women and build a discrimination-free society. The district unit of Bangladesh Narimukti Kendra brought out the procession from its office, paraded the main roads of the city, and held the rally at the Rangpur Press Club premises on Saturday afternoon on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2025.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Advocate Kamrunnahar Khanam Shikha, district organizer of Bangladesh Narimukti Kendra, presided over the rally. BSD (Marxist) district convener Anwar Hossain Bablu, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front district convener Shaju Basfor, women activists Puja Rani, Bristi Rani, and others addressed the rally.
Anwar Hossain Bablu highlighted the historical context of the women’s movement, noting that it began on March 8, 1857, in a New York yarn factory, where thousands of women protested wage inequality, long working hours, inhumane working environments, and lack of voting rights. He stated, “However, police brutally attacked them, leaving many injured, killed, or arrested. The movement then spread across the country.” He also mentioned that the proposal to declare March 8 as Women’s Day was made by socialist women leader Clara Zetkin at the Second International Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1910, and it was accepted.
At the rally, Shaju Basfor remarked that although International Women’s Day is celebrated, women have yet to fully achieve their dignity and rights. He urged for the advancement of the spirit of women’s rights and dignity, advocating for the construction of a society free from discrimination in alignment with the spirit of Women’s Day.
Advocate Kamrunnahar Khanam Shikha demanded the implementation of effective measures to stop violence, torture, rape, and murder of women and children across the country. She called for the swift arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible.
To prevent social degradation, Kamrunnahar Khanam Shikha highlighted the necessity for a movement against harmful cultural practices like obscenity, drugs, gambling, women and children abuse, rape, pornography, and fundamentalism. She also advocated for the elimination of wage discrimination against female workers in various sectors, including fields, farms, hotels, and other workplaces.