Hasina blames fanatics, police for violence against women

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina addresses the first meeting of Mohila Awami League at Mohanagar Community Centre in the city yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

"During the tenure of previous Awami League government, Bangladesh was known as a country promoting empowerment of women. But now the ruling party men and the law enforcers are torturing women everyday," said Hasina, also the AL president.

Addressing the first central committee meeting of Mohila League, women front of AL, she blamed the religious fundamentalists and the police for the violence against women.

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The former prime minister alleged that about 50,000 women were raped after the BNP-Jamaat alliance government took office in 2001.

She also pointed out the police action on the women activists of the opposition party during hartals.

Hasina criticised the ruling coalition partner Jamaat-e-Islami for using religion for political ends.

"The Jamaat men use the religion as a political weapon to achieve of their own mission and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is helping them," she said.

Hasina urged the women activists of her party to be aware about propaganda by the Jamaat against the AL.

"Women activists of Jamaat go door to door in the name of offering religious training to women. But actually they are engaged in speaking ill of Awami League and me," she said.

Presided over by Ashrafunnessa Mosharraf, president of Mohila League, the meeting was held at a city community centre. It was the first meeting of the committee since it was formed a year ago.

AL leader Motia Chowdhury, Ivy Rahman, Fazlatunnesa Indira, Faridunnahar Lily and Sultana Shafi, a professor at Dhaka University, also spoke.