PM's move to launch social movement against dowry

She has sent over 1.12 lakh letters to people of different strata across the country seeking their active participation in the movement against dowry, sources at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The letters were sent to people's representatives ranging from heads of gram sarkars (village governments) to ministers and MPs, political and religious leaders, government officials, teachers, vice-chancellors of universities, editors, chiefs of the armed forces, police, BDR, Ansar, VDP and coast guard, and heads of NGOs and professional bodies.

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More than 4.7 lakh letters with the same content are also awaiting distribution among the teachers of all government and non-government primary schools, all block supervisers under the Department of Agriculture Extension and all field level health assistants under the Department of Health, PMO sources say.

Besides, the prime minister in her addresses at public meetings recently seized the opportunity of huge gatherings to speak against dowry to create awareness among the cross section of people.

She underscores the need for educating the girl children to help check the dowry menace.

In her letters, she said dowry is a main factor behind repression of women.

The government is pledge-bound to prevent repression on women, Khaleda said in her letter adding that the position of women is an important indicator of a nation's development magnitude.

Women is Bangladesh have marched forward much in the path of development but, she said, some evil social customs, including dowry, are still obstructing them from being established socially.

Women are falling victims to violence and disgraceful situation because of dowry. Dowry system is prevalent in the country directly and also indisguise, she said.

"There is no difference between realising dowry on demand and taking it without making a demand," she said in the letter.

The prime minister said her government enacted laws and adopted different programmes for development of women and preventing violence against them.

She, however, stressed on taking stand by all against dowry in personal, family and social levels and encouraging others in this regard.

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Dr Kamal Siddiqui have also sent letters to all Deputy Commissioners(DCs) suggesting a six-point programme to make the social movement against dowry more effective and fruitful.

His proposals include formation of committees at union, district and upazila levels, inclusion of the dowry issue in Friday sermons at the mosques, encouraging educational institutions and the media to create awareness against dowry.

Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial meeting on March 8 took seven decisions to be implemented by four ministries to take the anti-dowry movement forward.

Women and Children Affairs Ministry and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry will implement one decision each while Information Ministry is responsible for two and Education Ministry for three decisions of the meeting.