|
Women with fair
opportunities can conquer the impossible", said a
famous philosopher from the United Kingdom. I agree. And
I am sure so did the late Indian Prime Minister, Indira
Gandhi, the ex British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret
Thatcher and many such 'iron' ladies who led their
Nations to impossible heights. And of course, so does
our Honourable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. I have
always had this notion that like a family pivots around
a woman, a developing nation like ours, needs women to
equally participate in the development process. To quote
Mr. Sam Nujoma, the President of Namibia, " it
should be recognized that without the contribution of
women to the political agenda, both nationally and
internationally, not only would development in countries
such as Namibia have remained gender-biased, but it
would surely have been much slower too..." And to
compliment Mr. Nujoma's vision, our Honourable Prime
Minister once commented: " women no longer want to
remain peripheral actors. They want to play their
rightful role in all spheres of life, including economic
and political life". We have seen our Honourable
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that she has given much
stress on these important issues.
I
firmly believe that women should have equal rights to
speak on man/women issues. They should be given to
shoulder equal responsibilities and it is time to
recognize the fact that women are natural managers. They
can manage society and governance as well as they do the
family. Because women manage the family well, they need
not be confined to it. Rather, because of this, they
should be inducted into politics so that the society and
governance are managed better, without leaving politics
to be the hunting ground for men. In 1971, when the sons
of our soil were bleeding to glory, the mothers and the
daughters and the sisters were doing their bit.
Thousands of women took up arms and fought like gallant
soldiers, who were des destined to bleed and perish only
to see their flag soar high and handsome. Thousands were
there in the midst of the tyranny to nurse and care for
the wounded. More than two hundred thousand women were
raped and slaughtered by the enemy camp and yet they
stood head held high, to honour and cherish the spirit
of freedom.
The
point is our women were there, beside our men shoulder
to shoulder, fronting the enemy. Never retreating, never
surrendering. And if we take a time out and refer to our
Constitution, we shall read lines like, '...women shall
have equal rights with men in all spheres of the state
and of public life'. Or, perhaps, '...there shall be
equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of
employment or office in the service of the republic.' In
the post liberation era, when the time came to rebuild a
nation, brick by brick, hope by hope, it was again the
woman and the man working in harmony as one. I feel
proud to say that 1971 was the turning point for the
women to be conscious about themselves and about the
nation. Our great leader, the Father of the Nation,
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman believed that the
definition of a developed nation cannot be limited to
economic considerations. The developed countries are not
always more gender- friendly than the developing ones.
Wherever a gender is excluded from the decision-making
process, we subvert a natural process, which makes for a
under-developed society.
In
fact, a thought such as this, actually set the focus to
introduce the Women Rehabilitation Programme by
Bangabandhu in 1972, which aimed to help and support
women in distress, women in need. Women Rehabilitation
Centres were set up and this move earned much
appreciation in all quarters. This, indeed, was the
turning point for the women who could now actually come
out of the house and work towards the development of the
country. However, this orientation process was stalled
indefinitely, post the assassination of our Father of
the Nation. Not just this programme, but the system of a
Democratic Government was given a back seat. But then,
as the saying goes, there is always light at the end of
the tunnel, and all hope was not lost. And with the
present government in power and with a humanitarian like
our Prime Minister at the helm, democracy was restored
and women issues were attended to.
The
present government believes strongly in the principles
of women empowerment. During its term, in the Union
Parishad elections, women were elected for the first
time. Currently, we have 6 elected women members in the
Parliament - a feat never achieved before. Of these, two
hold the portfolio of Cabinet Ministers, one is a State
Minister and one is a whip. Besides this, another
achievement that is noteworthy of mentioning is the fact
that under the regime of this government we have seen
women getting elected as prominent figures in the
Speaker's Panel. It gives me great pleasure to point out
that already we have had a woman presiding from the
Speaker's panel.
During
the previous Government’s regime, the members of the
30 reserved seats in the parliament were so very
non-functional that they were termed as, "Tirish
Set Goyna" (thirty sets of jewels). Under the
leadership of Sheikh Hasina, these 30 women have the
power to voice their views. It is true, that presently
we do not have a woman as a chairman of the Standing
Committee, but I would hope and assume that in very near
future we will see a woman presiding. And, sure I am,
she will be as successful, as efficient and as
responsible as the other gender, if not better.
In
most third world countries, progress has to face the
hurdles of illiteracy, religious fundamentalism and
gender bias. Women fall prey to these and as a whole
development suffers. It is true despite the odds,
comparatively in the last few years we have seen a rise
in the education level of the women in our country. This
is an extremely positive sign. To enhance the literacy
level among women, the government has taken serious
steps. Free education for women, Centres for Women
Development, stipend for Old Age Women, special quotas
for women in employment sectors, etc., are some of the
steps in the agenda of progress. However, it is
pertinent that on women issues, both the genders should
be responsibly active in their views and they should
together participate to uphold the issues of women
development.
In
our Parliament of the Standing Committees, namely
Education, Health & Family Planning, Social Welfare,
etc. we find at times women issues are given less
priority than what it deserves. I believe, it should not
be restricted only to Standing Committees dealing with
women affairs and strongly suggest that all standing
committees should play an active role to discuss women
related issues. To support my claim, I quote our leader
from one of her great statements made in New Delhi in
1997 at the convention to understand the Partnership
between Men and Women in Politics: "Democratic
politics has to include all the people regardless of
gender and class... When half of the population are
women and the majority are poor, the participation of
women and the poor in politics has to be integrated in
such a manner as to make democracy truly
meaningful."
Today,
when we talk of gearing ourselves for the next
millennium, I feel extremely encouraged to see the
participation of our women in the various sectors. Be it
sports, judicial, education, the cultural arena, even in
the election commission I hope to see women in various
perspectives, doing what is right, playing an active
role. And at the same time, I believe we need to
increase the ratio of nominations given to women to
participate in the National Elections.
Not
many countries in the world have the privilege to see
women holding fort in both the ruling and in the
opposition party. This really goes to prove that the
women of Bangladesh are a force to reckon with.
Provisions for the reserved seats in the Parliament for
women has been perhaps the best possible means to
encourage women to take on responsibilities and actively
participate to build a nation. Over the years these
women have set examples for many in the Parliament as
well as beyond the domain of the Parliament. Therefore
it is pertinent to have the reserved seats for women
actively in function at the Parliament and I would hope
this will be considered positively.
To sum up, I will quote Ms. Kalui
Kpegba-Dzotsi, MP, Togo " ... it is up to the women
themselves to take their future into their own
hands" - it makes a very important point.
To be recognized as the dependable gender, we,
the women of Bangladesh need to gear ourselves. After
all, women realize that nobody can change a woman's life
if she does not start by taking the first step. We need
to first believe the fact that we are up to it to take
the responsibilities and only then, we shall be accepted
and appreciated by one and all. Yes, we deserve to be
there with you, because we certainly are not the weaker
sex. Yes, we deserve to work together as a team, because
history has proved over and over again that we are
capable. And of course, you and we together define
democracy. So, I call upon my colleagues and all the
women of Bangladesh to come together as one to serve and
share the responsibilities involved in the process of
building the place which has been and which will remain
our greatest sense of pride. That is the land of plenty
- our very own Bangladesh.
|
