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NHRC chief for law protecting Dalit’s rights

Staff Correspondent
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman yesterday underscored the need for a law to prevent discrimination against underprivileged people in the country; particularly the Dalit community.
They remain victims of many kinds of discrimination despite the government initiative to enact a law to protect their rights, he said.
Rahman made the comments at two separate workshops held yesterday on Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process created through the UN General Assembly in 2006 when establishing the Human Rights Council.
NHRC organised both the workshops, one titled "UPR and Progress in Achieving Rights of Destitute, Helpless and Underprivileged People of Bangladesh” and the other "UPR: Follow Up on the Recommendations on Women Rights and Bangladesh Compliance with CEDAW” at Brae Centre Inn in the capital.
The NHRC chairman said people with disabilities perhaps are unable to perform certain tasks but they can still contribute to the society with their God-gifted qualities.
Many people of the Dalit community are still treated as lesser humans, this attitude has to be changed through establishment of a humanitarian, equal and justice based society, he said.
After the workshops, Dr Mizanur Rahman told The Daily Star that many countries have separate laws to ensure equal rights for the Dalit community but there is no such law in Bangladesh.
His office - which has received demands from different classes of citizens for a law to protect the rights of the Dalit community - will make the recommendation to the govern-
ment,hesaid.
Executive Director of Ain O Salish Kendra Advocate Sultana Kamal, speaking at the first workshop, said the government has to inform people about what measures it has taken for development of the underprivileged and the marginalised as people have a right to know this.
Sultana Kamal stressed on mandatory' registration of Hindu marriages and equal property rights for Hindu women.
Prof Mesbah Kamal of the history department of Dhaka University' said that some 55 lakh people from the Dalit and Harijan communities present in the country today are 'excluded' from the mainstream population.
Deprived of basic rights like education, sanitation and accommodation, they live under inhumane conditions, he said.
He demanded that the government ensures equal rights for the underprivileged and the marginalised by enacting a law and establishing an independent commission for this.
NHRC members Selina Hossain and Director General of Social Welfare Department Nasima Begum also spoke at the first workshop. Nirupa Dewan and President of Bangladesh Mohila Parishad Ayesha Khanam and Brotee Chief Executive Officer Sharmin Murshid, among others, addressed the latter.