UN campaign in 4 Bangladesh universities to protect women 

The UN Women has launched a project in four universities of Bangladesh to tackle sexual harassment, which it says is “still common” on campuses.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 3 Oct 2015, 04:32 AM
Updated : 3 Oct 2015, 04:32 AM

UN Women says it will  work with those universities—Bangladesh University for Engineering and Technology (BUET), Rajshahi University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and Jahangirnagar University—to improve capacity to deal with the menace.
 
The High Court in 2009 issued landmark directives to prevent sexual harassment in workplaces, educational institutions and public places, but the UN agency says such harassment is still “common”.
 
A 2013 analysis in eight universities found 76 percent of female students had faced incidents of sexual harassment.
 
“For female students, it’s (project) about knowing where they can get support,” said Mahtabul Hakim, UN Women’s Coordinator for 'Ending Violence against Women.
 
“Male students need to know what’s not acceptable, how they can support their peers, and what positive masculinity means in the context of a learning environment,” he said
 
At least 30,000 students, teachers, and administrative staff will be covered through a number of activities, including a Bangla-translated version of the acclaimed human rights play ‘Seven’.
 
UN Women will follow up with these universities to see how they can also set an example for other campuses in Bangladesh.
 
Hakim said the High Court directive defines sexual harassment and recommends some preventive measures.   "But these are hardly functional”.
 
“The guidelines recommend establishing mechanisms for receiving complaints, and for sexual harassment prevention committees to review and investigate the complaints regularly.
 
“The committees are there, but not all of them are operational,” he said.
  
UN Women believes students, committee members, teachers, and officials must join hands to tackle the problem.
 
"They would like to see the campaign develop and the stakeholders produce a plan to ensure the High Court guidelines are implemented in their universities," Hakim said.
 
A two-day workshop from Saturday will help start up the process, he said.
 
“It is not easy in Bangladesh to discuss sexual harassment. People are not comfortable discussing these issues. But this is what we need to change," Hakim said.
 
“We want teachers to be more engaged and responsive in addressing sexual harassment."
 
The Bangladesh National Women’s Lawyers Association will implement the project with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.