Female students highly vulnerable to stalking
Development experts tell workshop
Female students are highly vulnerable to sexual harassment including stalking on their way to and from school, which can increase their drop out rate, said development experts at a workshop yesterday.
Early marriage is another impediment to female education, said the development workers working in education sector at the daylong workshop titled 'Gender equality in education: Beyond numbers' at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
The workshop was jointly organised by Unicef, Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) under the umbrella of UN female Education Initiative (UNGEI).
After grade 7, the dropout rate for girls increases significantly and surpasses the rate for boys, especially in rural areas. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million girls in the country are not enrolled in primary schools, they said.
All, especially lawmakers, government, NGOs, development partners and civil society, must give priority in female education, their enrolment, retention and acquisition of skills, said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid at the concluding ceremony of the workshop.
“The role of lawmakers within their constituencies is imperative and they need to come up with strategies that would benefit boys and girls nationally whilst also addressing local needs,” he said.
According to the Directorate of Primary Education Annual Performance Report 2010, the primary school net enrolment rate for girls is 99.1 percent, higher than for boys standing at 89.1 percent. Meanwhile, 50 percent of 34 lakh madrassa students are girls.
State Minister for Education Motaher Hossain suggested lawmakers to visit schools in their own constituencies so that they get an idea about the quality of teaching, teacher-student attendance and assess problems to recommend to the ministry for taking measures.
Unicef representative Carel de Rooy called on the female as well as male lawmakers to come forward and bring gender equity in education.
Nepali Congress Member Suprava Ghimire explained to participants how female lawmakers are playing an active role in promoting female education in Nepal.
CAMPE Executive Director Rasheda K Chowdhury, also former adviser to a caretaker government, said public representatives could play a huge role in promoting gender equality.
“Female lawmakers are a wonderful resource to mobilise and motivate families and local communities to uphold the rights of women and girls,” she said.
Speaker Abdul Hamid, Chief Whip Abdus Shahid, Women and Children Affairs State Minister Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Member Momtaz Begum, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi Prof Veena Sikri, and DSHE Director General Noman Ur Rashid addressed the workshop.
Discussion on Gender Equity
Meanwhile, former adviser to a caretaker government Dr Akbar Ali Khan yesterday said women community has a huge power for the economic development of Bangladesh.
He said Bangladeshi women have already played a significant role in the sectors of micro-credit, garment industry and birth control and thus enriched the economic growth of the country.
National Council of Disabled Women, National Grassroots Disability Organsiation and ADD in association with Manusher Jonno organised the discussion to mark the 19th International Day of People with Disabilities titled 'Gender equity and role of civil society and NGOs in empowerment of women with disabilities' at BIAM auditorium in the city.
Information Commissioner Prof Sadeka Halim said women with disabilities face three-dimensional obstacles -- firstly women become deprived of facilities as they are women, secondly they suffer from physical disabilities and thirdly they suffer from poverty.
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