IGP wants Bangladeshi police at missions abroad for female worker safety

Inspector General Javed Patwary has proposed deputing Bangladeshi policemen to the missions abroad to ensure safety and security of expatriate female workers.

Speaking at an event in Dhaka on Friday, he said many female workers were returning from “different countries, including in the Middle East”.

“We think if our policewomen or policemen are deputed to the embassies in those countries, we will be able to take measures to ensure the safety of our women,” he said.

The IGP noted that many foreign countries have their police in their missions abroad for the security of their nationals.

“These police personnel communicate with us for different reasons related to their nationals’ needs,” Javed said.

Dhaka North City Corporation organised the event at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Park in Gulshan on gender inequality and the rights of the differently able people as part of a global campaign called – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Recently, two Bangladeshi women working as housemaids in Saudi Arabia have returned home after alleging torture by their employers in video calls appealing for help.

They are among at least 961 women who returned from Saudi Arabia in 10 months this year.

Forty-eight of them died there.

The police chief hailed the emergency 999 helpline service to tackle violence against girls and women.

Most of the 5.8 million people, who got help through 999 in past two years, were women, according to Javed.

Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said women should be given strong position in decision-making to stop violence against them.

DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam, MPs AKM Rahmatullah, Aparajita Haque and Naheed Ezaher Khan, cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, Swedish Ambassador Charlotta Schlyter and Norwegian Ambassador Sidsel Bleken also spoke.