Leaders of two right-based platforms at a rally on Thursday demanded ensuring security of female labourers of readymade garment (RMG) during their movement. They also stressed the need for accommodation facilities for the female labourers around their working places.
Karmojibi Nari (KN), a female workers’ platform, and Coalition for Urban Poor (CUP) jointly arranged the rally in front the National Press Club in the city protesting gang-rape of a garment worker in a microbus in city’s Mirpur and demanding trial of the culprits. The worker, aged 19, was gang-raped on July 1 on way to her home from a friend’s house at 10:0 pm. Following a writ petition, the High Court on Wednesday summoned the Deputy Commissioner of police (Mirpur zone) and OC of Mirpur Police Station to explain reasons of their failure to arrest those who raped the worker.
Addressing the yesterday’s rally, Shirin Akhter MP, KN founding president and president of Jatiya Sramik Jote, said that the worker was raped following deterioration of law and order situation. Alongside with the infrastructure development, the law and order situation has to be improved, she said.
She said the gang-rape of female worker is not desirable at a time when the garment industry is flourishing. The security of the female workers has to be ensured during their movement and also in their working places. Otherwise, the development of the garment sector will suffer, she said.
Demanding exemplary punishment of those involved in the incident, Shirin Akhter urged the lawyers not to provide legal support to those responsible for harassment of female workers.
CUP executive director Rebeka Saniat, woman affairs secretary of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) Umme Hasan Jhalmol, KN coordinator Sanjida Sultana, joint secretary of Jatiya Sramik Jote Kazi Siddikur Rahman also spoke on the rally.
