Violence against women: No progress in implementing HC’s directives, say rights activists

Violence against women has increased significantly in society, but there has been no substantial progress in implementing the High Court's directives regarding workplace and educational institution harassment prevention, women rights activists said today (9 December).

They said although the High Court (HC) has detailed the need for specific laws to prevent sexual harassment, and despite existing laws such as the Women and Child Repression Prevention Act 2000 and the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, progress in enacting such legislation remains minimal.

They said these at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity today organised by Gender Platform Bangladesh in observance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Mahamuda Begum, executive director of Sabujer Ovijan Foundation, presented a written statement on behalf of the platform.

Among others, Nazma Akhter, executive director of AWAJ Foundation, Nazma Yasmin, director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), Nighat Seema, deputy director of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers' Association (BNWLA), Anindita Ghosh, senior programme officer of Solidarity Center, and Deepa Akhter, project coordinator of Karmojibi Nari, spoke at the programme.

They said that while women in Bangladesh have witnessed significant improvements in their quality of life over the last five decades since independence, there has been no positive shift in incidents of violence against women, such as sexual harassment, abuse, and rape. Instead, the prevalence of violence against women has increased alarmingly. Women face violence in public transport, educational institutions, workplaces, and even within their families.

While some institutions have established harassment prevention committees as mandated, their effectiveness remains questionable, they added.

The women leaders said that the HC's ruling specifically stated that its orders and directives must be followed and implemented until adequate and effective legislation is enacted by the national parliament on the matter. However, it is deeply regrettable that no specific law has yet been passed to prevent sexual harassment in workplaces and educational institutions by the HC's directives.

Moreover, some institutions have not yet taken any initiative to implement the 11 directives issued by the HC. While a few educational institutions and factories have formed harassment prevention committees, these committees are not functioning effectively, they added.

They said that considering the overall context, Gender Platform Bangladesh drafted a proposed "Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, 2018" and submitted it to the relevant government ministry in the same year.

Subsequently, other similar organisations also submitted similar drafts to the ministry. The ministry assigned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to consolidate all the drafts. The NHRC consulted with the relevant organisations and prepared a final draft, which was submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs in December 2021, they said.

However, it is deeply concerning that no action has yet been taken by the ministries to pass the law. Despite repeated promises, the desired law has not yet seen the light of day, they added.

At the press conference, they presented a set of demands, which include the enactment of the Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Protection Act, ratification of ILO Convention 190 to address workplace violence and harassment, implementation of the High Court's 2009 directives on protecting female workers from harassment during commute and in society, formation of a government monitoring committee, exemplary punishments for harassment and timely resolution of cases involving violence against women and children, and amendment of discriminatory laws and promotion of a culture free of violence against women.

In the written statement presented at the press conference, data from Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) was cited, highlighting that a total of 2,197 women and girls were subjected to violence between January and October 2024.

In October alone, 200 women and girls were victims of violence, including 44 cases of rape, of which 30 involved minors. Among these, 8 cases were gang rapes, including 2 minors, and 1 minor was murdered following rape. Additionally, attempts were made to rape 9 individuals, including 7 minors, while 9 others, including 7 minors, were victims of sexual harassment. Four cases of stalking were also reported, involving 2 minors.

According to data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 830 women were raped nationwide during the same 10-month period. Among them, 39 women were murdered after being raped, and 7 committed suicide as a result. Furthermore, attempts to rape 141 women were recorded.

A survey conducted by the BILS based on newspaper reports revealed that between January and October 2024, 70 female workers experienced violence. Among them, 25 were subjected to violence at their workplaces, while 45 faced violence outside their workplaces.

The leaders said that, so far, 45 countries have ratified the "Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (ILO Convention 190)."

They expressed hope that the current interim government's Ministry of Labour and Employment secretary's commitment to taking steps for the prompt ratification of ILO Convention 190 has generated optimism that the government will ratify the convention soon.

They further said that if this convention is adopted by Bangladesh, it would not only strengthen the country's commitments at both national and international levels but also enhance the reputation of the Bangladesh government. Therefore, it is essential to undertake appropriate measures to thoroughly review and ratify this convention.

Gender Platform Bangladesh, a coalition of 14 organisations, has been established in 2017.