Law
Interview
On international women's day 2007
Dear Readers,
This year Law Desk tries to find out some answers to some questions and the relevance of International Women's Day. Here are some extracts (on random basis) form our findings. We are thankful to all the participants for their valued comments and hope readers will enjoy this.
The questions were:
1. What are the relevance of International Women's Day (IWD)?
2. In your eyes what kind of initiative should be taken to uphold women's rights and equality between women and men? (Prioritise your issues)
3. Domestic violence happens everywhere. It affects someone near you. At least 1 in 3 women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Usually, the abuser is a member of her own family or someone known to her. -- As a concerned citizen what should be our commitment/contribution to make a safe world for all?
Answers: IWD is an opportunity for all women from around the globe to come together and to appreciate the value of their own contribution towards the society which is relevant for women, young and old, from all societal groups.
In order to protect the women's right and put them in the equal footing with men, protective measures should start from our family. We should maintain the norms, cultures and values of our society. Accordingly we should make the male member understand the dignity and contribution of a female in the society. Moreover, women need to be conscious about their rights and always raise their claim. We all should pursue our existing laws. We have several general and special laws protecting the interests and rights of women. In this respect we need overall general commitment from our government by implementing those laws using proper mechanism.
As concerned citizens we should be conscious about the mental development and motivation of our poor people. At least every year, locally or nationally, IWD should accomplish some mandate to encourage all towards women empowerment and development.
Ms. Khaleda Parven
Assistant Secretary, Legislative Drafting Wing, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
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We should inform and pass on messages not only to our male counterparts, but also to female friends that we need some space and deserve dignity and recognition about our contribution to our family, work place and to the world. Women often forget that they are also human beings not machine.
Priorities: Initiatives should start from home. We have to make our family understand that we have some right and deserve equal treatment. Establishing equity is a must to make changes in women's life. The perspective of seeing women as inferior should be changed.
The women should be explicit and express their demand to secure their rights.
Strong family values and respect for women can make a significant change in their life. Often females are abused by females. So, changes should start from house. Women should raise their voice against violence and protest it.
Ms. Asma
IOM.
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International Women's Day should bring the contribution of women in diverse fields of life like education, health, economy, media, and human rights. It should focus on how every woman struggles against poverty, the environment to survive a family and how she trains and brings up her children. Physical and mental harassment of women and its preventive and protective mechanisms for them should also be pointed on the International Women's Day.
Priorities: Proper education should be provided and with informing them about their rights. In Bangladesh, the one-eyed judgement mentality to blame a girl at every step of life, in every society, must be changed. Women should be made economically independent. Cultural belief of inherent superiority of males over women and girls must be removed. Legal actions by women against any kind of abasement should be more practiced by strong legal supports. Strong legal status and laws should be more prioritised.
Ms. Sutapa Barua
Graduate Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering,
Montana State University, MT, USA
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It is an occasion when women from all over the world celebrate their achievements over the years; reflect on the challenges and hurdles that prevented them from utilizing the equal opportunities available to them and thereby play an effective role in governance. It is a day to remember that we can not afford to sit back and wait for others to do things for us or for things to happen. Both men and women must work together in promoting gender equality starting right from one's own home through to the national level.
We need to look at the policy planning processes and effect the necessary changes in order to ensure a more systematic integration of women's perspectives and gender issues in the national planning and reporting mechanisms on the MDGs. Action is needed to make women an integral part of a global vision for ensuring economic justice and human rights; women must participate and play an equal part in decisions regarding economic policies, good governance and effective spending. This is our task in the months and years ahead.
When we sing with Olivia Newton-John “I Am Woman”, we assert our self-confidence; we acknowledge the power within us; we recognise our resilience; we believe we can be strong. But with these “gifts” comes the responsibility to use them wisely and for the common good. And that means continuing to hold out the olive branch of peace and compromise and solidifying the foundations for a new mutually satisfying partnership with men. As conscious citizens our responsibility is to provide leadership in the community. We need to go out and try to understand the real needs of women and men. We need to develop sensitivity and a keen awareness of their concerns and the issues that affect them, assess the situation and be prepared to take actions accordingly.
Ms. Tahera Jabeen
Senior Development Advisor and Gender Focal Point,
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Disclaimer: It is the personal view and feelings of the person and not of the organisation that the person works for.
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To focus the inequality between men and women.
Prioritise: Initiative depends on the actor. Actor can be international community, national authority, family or the individual. If nation is considered then laws suppose to be equally useful for men and women (as for example, the property law is not equally useful for both) and state should ensure the proper application of these laws. Within family male and female child should be treated equally, son should be taught in such a way that he will be not grown up as male chauvinist and never think that he is more important than his sister. In the case of individual, a woman should come forward first by respecting herself as woman then she can get strength to make other think that she is equally important in the society. Overall internationally apart from observing IWD, other related initiatives should be taken to uphold women's right as the right of a human being.
I can influence the men surrounding me who are either fathers/brothers/husbands/sons of other women to respect women.
Ms. Farhana Malaya Chowdhury
Project Assistant, IOM Dhaka
Corresponding with the Law Desk
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