Violence against women reaches highest level in past 17 years: Titumir

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Planning Prof Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said on Thursday that violence against women had reached its highest level in the past 17 years, with the reality on the ground failing to match the development narrative of the ousted government.

"However much the ousted government talked about development, there is no consistency between the development indicators and reality," he said.

Titumir was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled "Land Rights and Violence against Women in Rural Bangladesh", organised by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) at CIRDAP auditorium in the capital.

He said violence within families persists when the state itself becomes violent.

"When a state seeks to govern through fear, it creates a culture of fear through every step, and that also spreads into families," he said.

He said that various indicators of patriarchy had increased significantly over the past 17 years, the consequences of which were reflected in the discussions at the seminar.

The adviser said the number of poor people had increased due to inherited problems, with around one crore people becoming poor from the lower-income group according to some estimates.

"After the previous government's social safety-net programmes ended, it was found that the number of poor people in the country had increased by one crore," he said, adding that the previous government had merely spread an empty narrative of development.

"We want to learn from the past. We want women to be beneficiaries throughout every stage of their lives. Our government wants to ensure their rightful entitlements during childhood, motherhood and old age," he said.

Titumir stressed the need for movements and struggles to establish people's rights and ensure state accountability.

"There is no alternative to movements and struggles, as we have to try to establish our rights through these means and bring the state under accountability," he said.

Referring to healthcare, he said the government aims to improve the quality of health services and upgrade upazila hospitals to 101 beds.

He said upazila hospitals were upgraded to 20 beds during the tenure of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and later to 50 beds during the tenure of Begum Khaleda Zia.

 "Unfortunately, no further initiative was taken in this regard," he said.

The adviser said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, wants to upgrade the hospitals to 101 beds to bring healthcare closer to the people.

He said the Constitution provides for a national healthcare system and Bangladesh should gradually increase health-sector spending to 5 percent of GDP within the next five years.

"This will help establish the democratic, humane and welfare state envisioned by the prime minister," he said.

Titumir urged people to play their role in implementing the concept of "one village, one product".

He also called for initiatives involving organisations such as the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) and SME Foundation to promote rural economic activities.

The adviser also stressed the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and expand the use of solar power.

He urged those working in rural areas to encourage people, schools and offices to adopt solar power.

ALRD Chairperson Khushi Kabir chaired the discussion.