Court environment is not women friendly as they face sexual harassments, gender stereotypes, gender biases and lack of adequate female washrooms, day-care centers and breast feeding corners there, stated a research conducted by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) on Tuesday.
BLAST conducted the research in Dhaka, Khulna and Kushtia from April 2017 to May 2018.
The research findings were shared at a BLAST-arranged national conference held at CIRDAP auditorium on Tuesday.
The study stated that most of the cases women court professionals have to face several types of sexual harassments like stalking, abuses, teasing and so one.
In 2009, High Court issued a guideline about sexual harassment in workplace and educational institutions but there has been no implementation of it in court environment.
It stated that there has been no complain desk formed where the victims can file their objections, thereby making the women court professionals more vulnerable to such offences.
It also found lack of separate washrooms, common rooms or waiting places for women in the court compounds.
The study claimed that there prevails some gender stereotypes about female lawyers that the clients and the male peers assume female are less capable than the male to handle a complex case.
The female lawyers also have to face payment discriminations as well as get less family support to take legal advocacy as a profession.
Dr. Fostina Perera, a human rights and development specialist, said to improve the environment and create a professional atmosphere for women, mindset has to be changed along with the physical infrastructure.
Dr. Shahnaz Huda, a professor of Department of Law of Dhaka University said, a woman professional has to balance between the family and work but if the male takes the equal responsibility of children and family, women can put more concentration in workplace.
Especially in the profession of legal advocacy a lawyer has to invest most of the time in the workplace but the women cannot do it properly for family responsibility. So if the family duties can be divided equally between male and female, women can do much better in the profession, she said.
Justice Naima Haider, a judge of High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court, while addressing the programme as the chief guest, said, “In my own life I had to face gender discrimination and stereotypes from family to workplace but I tried to sensitise them and now I am here”.
She asked everyone to be aware and gender sensitive as well as work from one’s own place to change the situation. Md Golam Kibria, Director of Judicial Administration Training Institute, Dr Johrul Islam, Head of Law Department of Islami University of Kushtia, ZI Khan Panna, member of Board of Trusties of BLAST addressed the programme.
