A comprehensive law would be formulated by July 15 to protect and ensure the rights of the disadvantaged groups including Hijra community and sex workers, Dr Shah Alam, chairman of the law commission said on Tuesday. “The disadvantaged groups in the society are facing different discriminations and stigmas from family, society, economy and culture. We need a comprehensive law so that such socio-economic and human rights discrimination can be regulated,” he said.
The observation came at a roundtable on ‘HIV and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification (SOGI) Population : UN Commitment and Bangladesh,’ organised by Bandhu Social Welfare Society (BSWS) at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the city.
“The law will include many groups especially eunuch, MSM, sex workers to ensure rights. If the present laws are hurdles for ensuring their rights, we would repeal them. That’s why we are formulating the law for such disadvantaged people,” he said.
“The Hijra community is facing different discriminations in social, political, economic and family level. Considering these matters, the government has taken different initiatives to eliminate such discriminations and stigmas to bring them to the mainstream,” Hossain Molla, joint secretary of social welfare ministry said.
“People of the society should treat them as normal human beings. If we fail to bring them to the mainstream of the population, we would not go ahead in the country’s development,” he asserted.
Underscoring the need for proper education of the SOGI population, he said, the government has introduced special stipend for those population.
“If they are educated, they will not be the victims of discrimination in family as well as society. The government has taken a pilot project in seven districts with a fund of Tk 72 lakh in the fiscal 2012-13 for psycho-social treatment,” he pointed out.
“We have also allocated Tk 4.43 crore for the SOGI population to provide them technical and vocational training to ensure jobs in different fields,” he added.
Dwelling on the nomenclature of Hijra, he said, “Hijra community does not want to be called by any other name. They want to be established as third gender to get citizen rights.”
Among others, AM Badrudduja, additional secretary of health and family welfare ministry, Prof M Harunur Rashid, associate editor of The Independent, Dr Munir Ahmed, advisor (social mobilizing) of UNAIDS, Dr Sydur Rahman, programme manager of national AIDS/STD programme, Mohuya Leya Falia, programme manager-rights, Manusher Janno Foundation, KSM Tarique, senior programme officer and team leader of family health international, Abu Yusuf Choudhury, chairperson of STI/AIDS network of Bangladesh, Md Harun Or Rashid, executive director of light house, Joya Sikder, president of Shomporker Naya Setu, Anonnya Banik, Hijra representative, Anisul Islam, chairman of BSWS, Mostofa Feroz, head of news of Bangla Vision, Md Shahnoor Hossain, lecturer of clinical psychology department of Dhaka University and UM Habibunnesa, human rights activist were present on the occasion.
“Our celebrities like other countries can play a remarkable role in ensuring the rights of the SOGI population,” Anisul Islam said.
Media can play a pivotal role in making positive attitudes about the SOGI population in the family level, he added.
AM Badrudduja said that it is difficult to remove the discrimination against the SOGI population but government and non-government people have to work together here.
“There are different factors including social, economic, religious and cultural for the discrimination against the SOGI population. But the government is working with zero discrimination to ensure rights of these people,” he added.
“If any baby is born with birth defect, it should not be blamed. When such stigma is present in the family level, the society has nothing to do here. But we have to sensitise the people here,” he said.
-With The Independent input
