Protest violence against women
Conference told
Cleonicki Saroca, associate professor at Asian University for Women (AUW), addresses a conference styled “Speak Up against Violence against Women†at the university's auditorium in Chittagong yesterday. Photo: STAR
Speakers at a conference yesterday urged everybody to be aware of and also raise their voices against violence against women. They were speaking at the conference titled “Speak Up against Violence against Womenâ€, organised by Speak Up Club of Asian University for Women (AUW) at the university's auditorium in Chittagong. Pointing out the vastness of the matter, Dr Fahima Aziz, vice chancellor of AUW, said statistics do not reflect the magnitude of crimes committed against women in society and opined that dialogue should be continued among people of the society to make them aware of this issue. She said violence against women is not a local problem but a global one. Prof Anowara Alam, former principal of Agrabad Mohila College, Chittagong, emphasised education at a family level so that children are brought up gender sensitive. “We have to take preventive measures to build up a violence free society,†she said. Prof Anowara urged women to overcome all obstacles by their inherent quality. Prof Latifa Kabir, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Chittagong, highlighted changing the outlook of society on women regarding the gender issue. Children should receive education from family and educational institutions concerning how they should behave with women, she said. Advocate Rehana Begum Ranu, president of Fight for Women's Rights, said the state should take the responsibility for establishing equal rights of both men and women in different matters including the inheritance of paternal and maternal property. “There is no difference between a man and a woman except for birthing and breastfeeding and so, they should have equal rights in the society,†she said. Sahab Uddin Neepu, assistant professor of Journalism and Mass Communication department of Chittagong University, Cleonicki Saroca, associate professor at AUW, and Omar Kaiser, assistant news editor of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, among others, spoke at the programme. Later on a play featuring awareness of violence against women was staged by the students of AUW.
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