On Eid Day, June 7, workers of the ‘Tathya Apa’ project continued their protest for the 11th consecutive day in front of the National Press Club, demanding job security and justice. Launched in 2011 under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the project empowered rural underprivileged women by providing free digital information services, primary healthcare, legal support, and education and job-related resources through local information centers.
Now, as the project faces closure this June, hundreds of women workers, many serving for over seven years, say they are being abandoned, despite early promises of absorption into permanent government jobs. They claim the development project proposal included revenue sector transfer, and even deductions were made from their salaries toward that promise. Yet, with no action taken, and new hires being outsourced in the project’s third phase, these workers feel betrayed.
Their four-point demand includes:
-Transfer all current workers to the revenue sector by creating posts.
-Extend the project by 3–5 years to allow time for the transition.
-If transfer is not possible, absorb workers into vacant posts in the ministry.
-Return deducted salaries and allowances immediately.
One protester shared:
“Today is Eid. We were supposed to be with our families. Instead, we’re here, ignored and unheard, after 11 days. No one from the government has even come to speak with us.”
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 