Speakers at a women’s rally organised by the Socialist Women’s Forum said women in Bangladesh continue to face legal discrimination in areas including property inheritance, marriage, and child custody. They also said that although equal pay for equal work exists in law, it is not implemented in practice. The rally was held on Friday afternoon at Shahbagh in Dhaka.
The rally was organised to mark the 145th birth anniversary and 93rd death anniversary of Begum Rokeya and to strengthen the movement for establishing women’s dignity and equal rights in society. The programme was presided over by Selina Yasmin Kona, president of the forum’s Dhaka city branch.
Speakers said Begum Rokeya was a pioneer of women’s liberation and an important figure in the Bengal Renaissance. They noted that she identified women’s education as a key condition for emancipation and dedicated her life to social reform and the advancement of society.
Bangladesh Socialist Party (BASD) central committee member Nikhil Das said that attacks on Begum Rokeya have not stopped even decades after her death, referring to a recent incident where a university professor reportedly described her as an “apostate,” which he called alarming.
Forum central president Shampa Basu said violence against women is increasing both at home and in workplaces. She criticised proposals to reduce women’s working hours, saying they aim to confine women to domestic spaces, and said the handling of the Women’s Reform Commission recommendations was humiliating. Organisational secretary Dr Manisha Chakraborty said patriarchal attitudes embedded in family, social, and state structures continue to obstruct women’s progress, making Begum Rokeya’s struggle relevant today.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 