Monday, February 14th, 2011
In the last two years the Supreme Court drew much attention for its role in ensuring justice in larger public interest on a wide range of issues.
From correcting the wrongful distortion of the country's liberation war history to righting the wrongs done to the nation's constitution, it boldly stepped forward to the rescue.
The highest court intervened whenever the executive branch of the state failed to stop illegal grabbing of land and rivers, violation of human rights, sexual harassment of women, and pollution of the environment.
Experts however observed that intervention by the highest court on dozens of such issues might not ...
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Sunday, December 26th, 2010
The government has taken a host of decisions that include formulation of a policy and guidelines, and enactment of a law providing for up to seven years' imprisonment to prevent incidents of stalking in the country.
The Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2003 will be amended to ensure strict enforcement of it in fighting stalking. Moreover, steps will be taken for proper application of the ICT Act and Cyber Crime Act.
And to stop sexual harassment in educational institutions, a law will be made in consistence with different international laws and conventions.
The decisions were taken at an inter-ministerial meeting in the ...
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Thursday, November 11th, 2010
The state should enforce strict laws and wage a social movement against stalking of women while families must teach children social and moral values to stop the menace.
Stalking has turned into a deadly social disease like terrorism, speakers at a roundtable noted yesterday, stressing the need for using a term like “sexual harassment”, not eve teasing for stalking.
They also suggested increasing interaction between boys and girls by arranging social and cultural programmes and involving them in more extra curricular activities.
The roundtable titled “Social resistance against stalking” was organised by daily Prothom Alo at its office attended by a cross section ...
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Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Stalking of women has taken a turn for the worse with a growing number of people being killed or maimed for trying to resist the menace.
The death of Mizanur Rashid, a Natore college teacher, exposes the vulnerability of those protesting harassment of women.
Mizanur, a chemistry teacher at Lokmanpur College in Bagatipara upazila of Natore, died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on Sunday, 12 days after he was beaten up by two local stalkers.
The failure of the state and the society to shield women from stalking has led many young girls and, in some cases, parents to commit suicide.
In ...
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Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
It was like their job, gathering in front of Tongi Pilot High School gate during start of the school and when it breaks up. They make obscene gestures, explicit comments and whistle at the schoolgirls entering and leaving the school.
On April 11 just like other days, they, a group of six youths, appeared at the school gate and started their tricks. They did not know that April 11 was not a regular day.
Around 1:00pm minutes after the school had closed for the day students started pouring out. The six stalkers aged between 20 and 26 began to do what ...
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Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Unless a huge number of school dropout is checked and enrolment of poor and working or vulnerable children is ensured, the nation's goal of education for all by 2014 would remain a far cry, educationists said yesterday at a roundtable.
To ensure education for all, the government should utilise the local government bodies by making them accountable for the job.
In addition, the government should introduce target-oriented programmes to prevent dropouts and increase enrollment of vulnerable children, they added.
Discussants at the roundtable titled "A National Priority for Education for All (EFA): Reaching Vulnerable Children" quoted the School Survey Report 2007 ...
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
Child pornography is on the rise in Bangladesh as 80 percent of the under eighteen-year-old girls involved in sex trade are forced to do so due to poverty, deception, trapping and torturing, said a seminar yesterday in the capital.
Manusher Jonno Foundation organised the seminar to share their studies titled "Child in sex trade, a situation analysis" and "Child pornography, an exploratory study at Dhaka" at Jatiya Press Club.
The findings revealed a major portion of both school going and out-of-school children are exposed to porno pictures in the form of poster and picture card and porn CDs.
They are getting involved ...
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Saturday, August 30th, 2008
Bangladesh Police introduced a special intelligence branch comprised of only women.
Special Women Police Contingent (SWPC) deals with criminal activities by women, which have been on the rise.
The police department introduced the new branch recently with a view to curbing sex trade, drug peddling, and trafficking of women and children.
According to police sources, women are being used for trafficking other women and children, drug peddling, smuggling, and for swindling people, as crime lords feel safer to employ women for those jobs since traditionally they raise less suspicion.
Sources said to deal with women criminals Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) already set up ...
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Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Lack of awareness about child rights and existing laws both lead to the violation of rights of children in conflict with the law, starting from their arrest and lasting through their custody and trial.
Children and juveniles are not given rights that ought to be guaranteed to them according to the Children Act 1974, an act that experts say remains back dated compared to the Convention on Rights of the Child, which Bangladesh ratified in 1990.
A glaring example of how police and magistrates lack knowledge about child rights was the arrest of an eight-year-old child by Dakkhinkhan police on April ...
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
A 16-year-old girl, raped and burned by a man whom she used to regard as her grandfather, died last night in the capital following her two-month-long struggle with the injuries.
Critically injured Rozina, from Mohimaganj of Gaibandha, was transferred from Gaibandha Sadar Hospital and admitted to Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on January 27 with 30 percent of her lower body severely burned.
She was transferred to the DMCH as her condition deteriorated despite receiving treatment at the Gaibandha Sadar Hospital for over one month.
Her assailant, Majid Talukdar, aged around 45 or 50, ...
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