Workers harass 83pc female passengers sexually: study

Around 83 per cent women who regularly avail public transports in the country were sexual harassed by transport workers on roads, showed a report published on Saturday.

The report also showed the authorities did not take these cases of sexual harassment seriously.  

The report was published at a roundtable titled ‘Security of Women in Public Transports’ was organised by Road Safety Foundation at Bangladesh Press Institute in the capital.

While presenting the keynote paper, the foundation executive director Saidur Rahman said in February  this year they surveyed on 1,100 women public transport user across the country and the findings showed around 83 per cent women were sexually harassed by transport workers.

Around 60 lakh trips take place daily across the country and 20 per cent of which were covered by women, he said.

Citing 21 incidents of rape and killing after rape victims, he said 50 per cent such crimes took place on highways, 25 per cent on regional highways in Tangail, Mymensingh, Chattogram, Barishal, Habiganj, Kurigram, Manikganj, Narayanganj and Noakhali districts and other 25 per cent on Dhaka roads.

Thirty-five per cent such incidents took place on inter-district route buses, 30 per cent in intercity buses, 20 per cent in local buses and 15 per cent in long route buses, he said.

Around 50 per cent victims were thrown out of buses after being raped inside buses while the transport drivers, workers and supervisors were involved in these crimes, he said.

He also said on buses in the capital, women became victims of both physical and mental harassments regularly while some alleged that they did not get help from police after lodging complaints.

The foundation vice-chairman Jyotirmoy Barua said the overall road transport sector was made for males and the authorities should take initiative to make it for females, too.

Hosne Ara Begum, programme coordinator of gender justice and diversity initiative at BRAC said the government had to work on sensitizing all about the rights of women.

Samajtantrik Shramik Front president Razequzzaman Ratan said women should not be treated as ‘mother or sister’ rather they should be treated as human being at first for ensuring their human rights.

Kamran ul Baset, head of road safety programme at BRAC, said there should be more research to find out the real situation of harassment of women in public transports. Then an action plan should be formed to check the problems, he added.

The foundation legal economist MS Siddiqui said that all should come forward to make public transport safe for women.

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation deputy general manager (planning) Abu Bakar Siddique said they trained drivers with women trainer to make them understand how to behave.

The foundation also placed some recommendations including gender sensitive transport guideline and training for drivers, installing CCTV in all public transports, drivers’ identity card on vehicles, double entrance on buses, and implementation of law to prevent sexual harassment.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net