How can girls get more playground time? UNO suggests time slots

As Bangladesh’s population grows, there is more need for housing. And many fields, where children played, were gobbled up by residential and other buildings. The fields that still remain are predominantly the domain of boys. So, how can girls get access to playgrounds and fields?

Hello Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 25 July 2021, 10:39 AM
Updated : 25 July 2021, 10:39 AM

In a Facebook live stream organised by hello.bdnews24.com, Bagerhat Sadar Upazila UNO Muhammad Musabbirul Islam suggested that one answer might be the introduction of separate days for boys and girls or separate time slots.

Girls often have fewer opportunities to play and face questions from society when they play outside, he said at the event moderated by Nusrat Islam Trisha, a child reporter from Bagerhat.

The event that focused on the children of Bagerhat was streamed live on the Hello Facebook page on Saturday.

“What we can do is divide the time into slots for boys and girls; this could be done by dedicating specific days to them, or by dividing a day by hours,” Islam said.

As the playgrounds are mostly owned by the educational institutes, the government can discuss forming football clubs with the authorities and local representatives at the union level, he said.

The UNO, a former student of Dhaka University, cited examples from his student life, such as the specific time slots he saw for men and women at the Dhaka University swimming pool.

Though football is a popular sport, fewer girls play it, said Islam. A few girls who play football in girls’ schools turn up at tournaments, but there are fewer football clubs for girls and women.

Football clubs will be formed in each union once the pandemic situation improves, Islam said. He also promised to form a separate team for girls and ensure they would get proper training.

“I believe we need to make sure our girls have the opportunities to flourish through their skills and intelligence, if we want Bangladesh to prosper.”

CHANGING ROOMS, SELF DEFENCE TRAINING

To increase girls’ ability to protect themselves and raise their self-confidence, the government has organised short training courses on self-defence, said Islam. Women martial art trainers from Dhaka are providing the training.

He highlighted another programme of setting up separate changing rooms at the schools. The programme is being implemented with the help of union parishad chairmen, upazila chairmen and local MPs.

The change rooms will ensure that girls do not miss school during their menstrual cycles, he said. The room will have amenities for girls, including sanitary napkins, bed, cloth hangers or lockers, mirrors and washrooms.

Some educational institutions have already started to set up such rooms, he said.

He urged the parents to nurture their daughters so they can flourish. Every government body is willing to support parents in this endeavour, he said.

Islam also hailed the child journalism initiative, saying it is a great opportunity for children to develop their talents and will broaden horizon their minds.

Nusrat Islam Trisha, who moderated the event, is a child journalist and a student of class 8.

Anyone aged below 18 years may register to be a child journalist following the link: https://reg.hello.bdnews24.com/

Thousands of students have received training and opportunities to work in Hello since its inception in 2013. They focus on issues important to them and their reports are published on the Hello website: https://hello.bdnews24.com/