The young generation should be involved in raising awareness at individual, family, society and government policy-making levels to prevent all gender-based violence against women and children online or in the cyber world. As part of the ’16-Day International Women’s Day Against Violence against Women’ celebrated around the world to stop violence against women and create awareness, a joint initiative of Aspire to Innovate- a2i and Women’s Empowerment for Inclusive Growth (WING) projects, supported by UNDP, was held at the ICT Tower of Agargaon on Wednesday. Mr. NM Zeaul Alam, Senior Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Division was present as the chief guest in the program organized with the youth to prevent all gender-based violence including women and children.
Project Director (Joint Secretary) of a2i Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir presided over the event. Sara Jita, National Consultant (Anand Mela Coordinator) of WING Project gave a detailed presentation on various types of gender-based violence on online and digital platforms.
In the speech of the Chief Guest, ICT Division Senior Secretary NM Ziaul Alam said that with the digital transformation, various initiatives have been taken by the government to prevent violence against women in the cyber world. Besides, regular campaigns are being conducted to create awareness among women and students.
Women and students need to know about various strategies to stay safe in the cyber world. Getting ahead in a technology-driven world requires knowing what content to share and what content to avoid sharing when using devices and social media. Government and supporting organizations are working together to secure the use of technology for all in building Smart Bangladesh 2041 to raise awareness in all areas.
While speaking as the president, the project director (Joint Secretary) of a2i Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir said, currently one in five women face violence in various ways. The event was organized as part of an internationally celebrated 16-day campaign to combat all gender-based violence, including against women and children. In order to prevent gender based violence in the cyber world, the brave role of the young generation in being confident, aware and sharing with family and close friends in any such situation is very important.
While speaking as the special guest at the event, Kajal Chatterjee, National Project Manager of Swapna and WING Project said that 3 things are important to prevent violence against women and cyber bullying – creating awareness, taking effective action and providing adequate protection. We are constantly making women aware of cyberbullying through WING Project’s Anandamela digital marketplace so that women entrepreneurs do not have to face any form of harassment and can run their businesses safely.
The a2i Joint Project Director (Joint Secretary) Nahid Sultana Mallick, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Investigation Division (CCT) ADC Md. Nazmul Islam, Dhaka University Women and Gender Studies Department Dr. Syed Md. Sheikh Imtiaz, Sheela Tasneem, Senior Governance Specialist of UNDP Bangladesh’s Democratic Governance Cluster, Nazneen Nahar, President of Bangladesh ICT Journalists Forum (BIJF) and E-CAB Women Forum, and Saadat Rahman, Founder of Cyber Teen were also present in the event.
A session was conducted in the event to create awareness about various situations and to provide strategic guidance to protect themselves from all gender-based violence including women and children in cyberspace. Among others, senior officials of Information and Communication Technology Department, a2i, Swapna and WING projects, students of various schools and colleges of the country and young entrepreneurs associated with the Ananda Mela platform were present.
Since 1981, women’s rights activists in various countries have been celebrating November 25 as the International Day for the Prevention of Violence against Women. This day was recognized in 1993 at the Vienna Human Rights Conference. On the other hand, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women on December 20, 1993 and recognized November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on February 7, 2000. Later, from 25th November to 10th December, 16 consecutive days campaign program was taken. As a part of this, every year in different countries of the world, various programs are taken in the 16-day campaign, including the observance of Women’s Violence Elimination Day by government and private initiatives. This year’s theme has been set by the United Nations as ‘To build unity among all, stop violence against women and children’.