& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

JS reserved seats for indigenous women demanded

Staff Correspondent
Speakers at a seminar yesterday demanded reserved seats in the Jatiya Sangsad for indig-enous women from Chittagong Hill Tracts to ensure their political empowerment.
Representation of women from indigenous communities is absent in parliament, they said, adding that the major political parties are creating a barrier to ensuring their rights.
They also pointed out that the CHT Peace Accord has ensured women’s membership in the Hill District Councils, but it has never been implemented.
Bangladesh Nari Pragati Sanga (BNPS) organised the seminar titled 'Status of women in the CHT Peace Accord' at the National Press Club in the city.
Speaking at the seminar, Justice Golam Rabbani called for constitutional recognition of indigenous people to ensure their basic rights.
He also suggested reviving the secular spirit of the constitution.
Rashedg K Chowdhury, former adviser to the caretaker government, said CHT is witnessing a surge in Islamist militancy, which must be curbed, as their first target is women.
Barrister Sara Hossain, a member of the CHT Commission, said there is an urgent need to activate the Special Tribunals to Prevent Violence against Women and
Children in the hill districts as well as providing training for law enforcement and judicial officers to sensitise them.
Mongol Kumar Chakma, information and publicity secretary of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) presented the keynote paper.
He said the rights issues of hills women have a different dimension. They are very often subjected to communal violence, including rape, torture and murder, because of their ethnic identity.
The conservative Jumma society also deprives them of property rights, education and right to decisionmaking, increasing their dependency and vulnerability, he added.
Mongol Kumar also said seven out of ten women in the hills do not have access to education. There are only a few women headmen in the 300 mouzas in three hill districts.
He suggested incorporating the issues of Adivasi women into the National Women Development Policy in order to safeguard their rights.
Rokeya Kabir, executive director of BNPS, Omar Tareq Chowdhury, director of BNPS, Shaktipada Tripura, organising secretary, PCJSS, Prof Anwar Hossain, Prof Shamsul Arefin, Anjulika Khisha, and La Sing Nue, executive director of Bolipara Nari Kallyan Samity, Bandarban, also spoke.