STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Millions of people from marginalised communities in Bangladesh continue to face exclusion due to the absence of specific legislation prohibiting discrimination and untouchability, said rights groups at a seminar yesterday.

Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, Bangladesh still lacks a specific law to address social discrimination and untouchability, leaving millions without effective legal remedies, they said, calling for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

The seminar, titled “Call for Speedy Enactment of the Law to Eliminate Inequality in the National Dialogue”, was organised by Citizens’ Initiative and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), in collaboration with the Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (BDERM) and the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), at a city hotel.

Presenting the keynote paper, Zakir Hossain, chief executive of Nagorik Uddyog, said constitutional commitments to equality and social justice have yet to translate into meaningful protections for marginalised communities.

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