Families should act for ending violence against women

To stop violence against women, awareness and resistance should be first raised at family level, speakers said at a roundtable in Patuakhali town yesterday.

The Daily Star organised the roundtable titled "From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World" at Hotel Mollika Party Centre with the help of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

It will be possible to eliminate violence against women from the society if every family becomes sensible enough to teach their members not to torture and harass women and to be vocal against it, said speakers.  They also urged all employers to ensure workplace security for women and requested police and the administration to be more compassionate on tackling stalking of women. Amitabh Sarker, deputy commissioner of Patuakhali, attended the event as chief guest and Saheb Ali Pathan, assistant superintendent of police, as special guest. Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former managing editor of The Daily Star, moderated the programme where Fatema Sultana, field officer for UNFPA; advocate Obaidul Alam, secretary general of Patuakhali Lawyer's Association, Piaara Begum, acting deputy director of the family planning department, and Swapan Banerjee, president of Patuakhali Press Club, also spoke.