The government has initiated a drive to empower the third gender by allowing them to enroll for primary education and skill-development projects. The programme, sponsored by the department of social service (DSS), will be launched on a pilot basis in seven districts on Tuesday. “We’ll introduce the programme in Dhaka, Chittagong, Dinajpur, Patuakhali, Khulna, Bagura and Sylhet districts,” DSS director general Nasima Begum told The Independent. “If we get good results, we will implement the idea in other districts in phases,” he said. The Tk. 72 lakh programme envisions 17,000 projects across the country to fulfill five demands to establish the rights for the third gender in society.
“Our main focus is to provide education to those who are under five. However, we’ll also provide vocational training to others to enable them to have better livelihoods. The government will also give them stipends,” the DSS DG said.
DSS officials admitted that they don’t have enough data on this marginalized community. “According to NGOs here, around 30,000 people belonging to the third gender are living in Bangladesh,” a DSS official said.
NGOs said the government must support the third gender community by giving them the right to education so as to empower them
to earn their livelihood with dignity.
-With The Independent input
