Speakers at a views-exchange meeting have said that although women play a vital role in the development of the family through domestic work, they are not properly evaluated.
The main goal of the International Women’s Day is to establish equal participation and equal rights of women in all fields, prevention of violence against women, and evaluation of women’s domestic work. The respect of women they deserve and men’s participation in household work should be ensured in the interest of gender equality.
WBB Trust (Work for a Better Bangladesh), a rights platform, arranged the views-exchange meeting on ‘Gender Equality in Future Development and Progress’ at its conference room in Dhaka on Monday (March 28).
Gaus Piary, director at WBB Trust, chaired the event, while Shanjida Akhter, communications officer, moderated it. The event was addressed, among others, by Debra Efroymson, regional director of HealthBridge Foundation of Canada; Habibur Rahman, departmental head of Social Work at People’s University of Bangladesh; Kazi Sohail Rana, executive director Development of Disadvantage People (DDP); and Syeda Anonna Rahman, program head of the WBB Trust.
In her presidential speech, Gaus Piary said that the laws need to be amended and implemented in order to establish equal rights for men and women in property inheritance. Women must strive to establish their own rights.
Syeda Anonna Rahman said that it is necessary to teach respect for women in the family. Women need to establish a place of mutual respect and evaluation among themselves. She further said that the women don’t receive proper evaluation despite their significant contribution to the family through domestic work.
Habibur Rahman said that the amount of time and physical work done by a woman in the family is no less important than any other job. Their domestic work has value not only in the home but also in the economy. Women spend most of the day in cooking, washing clothes, keeping the house clean and serving everyone. It is necessary to change the mentality of underestimating this work as the work of women only.
Kazi Sohail Rana said that although the government has taken various steps for the development of women, the actual rights of women have not been established till now. Rural women get less opportunities than urban women. Various steps need to be taken for the development of urban and rural women. Special emphasis should be laid on prevention of child marriage, good health of women and establishment of rights to education.
Debra Efroymson said that inequality between men and women still exists also in developed countries. It is necessary to change the mentality of both men and women. Changing the mindset of family members will play a role in the advancement of women.