Uniform family code l Permanent women commission
The Women Affairs Reform Commission on Saturday submitted 433 recommendations to the government, including the introduction of equal property rights for women, a uniform family code, and a separate and permanent women affairs commission.
Eliminating all discriminations in the public spazce and family laws, increasing the total number of seats in the parliament, with half of the seats reserved for women via direct election, were also proposed.
The commission submitted the report to the chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna in the capital Dhaka in the afternoon.
After receiving the report, Professor Yunus gave directives to the ministries and divisions concerned to quickly implement the recommendations that could be implemented right now.
These recommendations would be taken up with the political parties via the National Consensus Commission, he added.
In November last year, the interim government formed the 10-member commission with Nari Paksha executive council member Shireen Parveen Haque as its chief.
After submitting the report, the commission chief and members attended a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy.
Shireen Parveen said that without the anti-discrimination movement this commission could not have made these recommendations.
These recommendations might ignite some controversies, which the commission would welcome as people should discuss these issues, she added.
She also said that they have made the recommendations considering the constitution and laws, policies, institutions and programmes, and 15 specific issues.
Some of them can be implemented during the tenure of the interim government, some will remain for the next government to execute while some are expectations and dreams of the women rights movement, Shireen added.
Among the 15 specific issues, the commission gave a recommendation for introducing a uniform family code, according to which equal rights for all women and men will be ensured regardless of religion, ethnic group, or class.
This code will be implemented as optional provisions from the tenure of the interim government and will be mandatory for all in future.
Under this issue, recommendations were provided to recognise food, clothing, residence, education, health, and work as the fundamental rights in the constitution and implement these rights gradually; eliminate the death sentence; form a separate and permanent women affairs commission to observe, monitor and protect the rights of women; withdraw the two reservations on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women regarding reform of laws and women’s equal rights on marriage and divorce, and ratify and implement the ILO Charter C189 and C190.
Under the issue on ‘role of women in the public space: in national and local levels’, the commission made a recommendation to increase the total number of seats in the national parliament to 600, where in every parliamentary constituency there will be one general seat and one reserved seat for women and the MP for each seat will be directly elected.
The commission also recommended eliminating corruption in politics and holding the local government elections before the national polls.
Considering the population, Shireen Parveen said, only 300 parliamentary seats are not enough at all for the country.
In response to a query from a reporter that 600 hundred parliamentary seats are too many, she said, ‘We want women to make laws,’ she said.
She also said that she has requested the chief adviser to do something for the Biranganas — women who were raped by the Pakistan army and their local collaborators during the War of Independence — as no one was beside them to help after independence.
Under the participation in the economy and the right to property issue, the commission recommended ensuring women’s equal rights in inheritance, making women’s inclusion in agriculture easier, recognising women as fisherpersons and ensuring women’s right to forest resources.
The commission also made recommendations to ensure women’s minimum age for marriage at 18, protect them from unexpected and risky pregnancies, reform the women and child affairs ministry, establish area-wise child care centres and residential hotels for working women, continue the traditional governance system of the national minority groups in the hills and plains and include the headmen or ‘karbari’ in the local government system, ensure a one-third representation of women in all local government institutions, review, reform and implement the existing laws for preventing violence against women and child, make the complaint filing system easier, increase the number of women in the public administration, provide special stipends for the victims of child marriages, provide coordinated and relevant sex education to all in all educational institutions, provide a six-month maternal leave and a two-week paternal leave in all sectors, recognise marital rapes, respect the victims of rapes, ensure women and men’s equal opportunity for participation at all levels of all kinds sports and cultural activities, among others.
During the submission of the report, commission members BRAC Institute of Governance and Development senior fellow Maheen Sultan, advocate Kamrun Nahar, Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation president Kalpona Akter, women health specialist Halida Hanum Akhter, Bangladesh Nari Sramik Kendra executive director Sumaiya Islam, National Human Rights Commission former honorary member Nirupa Dewan, Asian Development Bank former senior social development advisor Ferdousi Sultana, and student representative Nishitha Zaman Niha were present.
The commission started its work in December last year and its tenure is till April this year.
