A delegation from the Amrai Pari Paribarik Nirjaton Protirodh Jot (WE CAN) exchanged views with Faridul Haque Khan, Minister of State for Religious Affairs, and recommended putting a stop to hateful and violent statements against women at religious gatherings.
The meeting took place at 11 am on 5 September.
At the meeting, WE CAN was represented by their chairperson Sultana Kamal, Co-chairperson MB Akhtar, Executive Coordinator Jinat Ara Haque, National Committee Member Rabia Begum, Program Coordinator Mubinur Rahman, and Advocacy and Training Coordinator Suraiya Parvin.
At the meeting, the state minister was handed videos of several Waz with misogynistic, unconstitutional, and human rights violating language and a report on how these Waz are in conflict with global and national policy.
Amrai Pari Paribarik Nirjaton Protirodh Jot, or WE CAN, expressed concern about the spread of such misogynistic, anti-liberation, anti-constitutional, anti-state, and hateful speech against different religions on social media, in town-village rallies, on public transport, on smartphones, memory cards, CDs and cassettes etc.
They said that in an independent democracy, women’s constitutional rights, including the right to education, the right to work, the right to privacy, and the rights of citizens and the state are being violated.
In the context of the growing influence of fanatical groups internationally, and their involvement in militancy, the alliance wanted that the government should keep a close eye on provocative and hate-mongering gatherings.
In the exchange meeting, the alliance made five recommendations to the Ministry of Religious Affairs:
1. To take immediate action to stop and control misogynistic, unconstitutional, and inhumane statements at such religious gatherings.
2. To form a monitoring cell on behalf of the religion ministry to take immediate action against such statements made at various propaganda rallies.
3. To warn groups spreading such violent and hate speech, and to hold them legally accountable, if necessary.
4. Arrange training to promote positive speech and popularise awareness speech at the initiative of the ministry.
5. To take initiatives to make religion tolerant, peaceful, and humane among the people.
