FATHER'S PROPERTY Find way, let girls not be deprived

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday directed the authorities concerned to make sure that trial procedures would not be delayed since many people were behind bars without knowing their faults.
‘The delay in trial proceedings has to be reduced because there’re many people in jail who don’t know why they are behind bars. They don’t know what their faults are or how to access legal aid services,’ she said.
Addressing the inaugural programme of the National Legal Aid Day 2019 at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital, she said the government had taken steps to address the problem.
‘The law ministry will take more effective measures to reduce the delay in trial proceedings,’ she said.
Sheikh Hasina also asked the authorities concerned to ensure justice with swiftness and stern punishment in case of social offences like murder, arson, burning people to death and rape.
Law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister Anisul Huq presided over the function. Law and justice division secretary Abu Saleh Sheikh Md Zahirul Haque and director of the National Legal Aid Services Organisation Md Aminul Islam also spoke on the occasion.
With the slogan ‘Sheikh Hasina’s contributions to the Sonar Bangladesh of Bangabandhu is to provide the free legal aid services’, the day was observed for the seventh time to make people aware about the government’s free legal services.
The prime minister urged the law ministry, judges and other experts to find out solutions so that women would not deprived of their inheritance properly rights.
‘Yes, we’ll have to abide by Islamic and Muslim laws. It’s right. But why do other people snatch girls’ rights to their fathers’ property?’ she said requesting the authorities concerned to look for a solution to this issue.
Hasina said a solution was essential since it gave a rise to many incidents of social injustice. 
The prime minister mentioned that she had talks with many religious leaders who told her the rights of daughters could be protected.
She said the government introduced the legal aid services for the poor, insolvent people women who face such problems (deprivation from property rights).
The Prime Minister said the government would take necessary measures to expand the legal aid services to upazila and union levels which will help ease the backlog of cases.
Hasina said the government enacted the Legal Aid Act 2000 to assist the poor and disadvantageous people of society to help them get justice. 
But, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Jamaat alliance had shelved the legal aid programme after coming to power in 2001 and the Awami League government expedited the system when it returned to office in 2009, she added.
The government was providing free legal aid services to insolvent and marginalised people, including acid victims, widows and women abandoned by husbands, physically-challenged people, victims of human trafficking and people of small ethnic groups, she said.
The prime minister said a total of 3,93,790 people were provided with legal aid services in the last 10 years, and some 1,0668 lawsuits were disposed of under the legal aid system.
In the last four years, Hasina said, the legal aid offices had taken initiatives to dispose of 17,929 cases through the Alternative Dispute Resolution system or arbitration. Of those, 16,513 litigants got the benefits of peaceful disposal of the cases, she added.
At the function, Legal Assistance to Helpless Prisoners and Persons received the best non-government organisation award 
for providing legal aid services, while Advocate Fatema Begum of Narsingdi Legal Aid Office received 
the best penal lawyer award and Barishal District Legal Aid Committee received the recognition award of the best legal aid office.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net