Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said there is no alternative to education and economic emancipation of women for their empowerment and check violence against them.
"There is no alternative to education and economic emancipation for the advancement of women and girls. To cut all forms of violence against women, their education and empowerment must be expanded," she told BSS in a recent interview on the occasion of the International Women's Day to be observed tomorrow (March 8).
Focusing on the long ordeal the country's women face in their daily life, Rizwana said the women continue to face never-ending hurdles as a vested quarter do not want to see that women get empowered in society.
"As they like weak women, they do not like bold women. And this is the reality in our society," she added.
Rizwana, who was an environmental advocate by profession, said if women can be developed as skilled and competent human resources, they will be able to play a pivotal role in an advancing the country.
To this end, she observed, the state and families as well as the society have a responsibility, saying that the path of women should be smooth like that of men.
She asked all not to criticise women because of merely being women but judge them because of their works and skill.
"Guardians should understand that both boys and girls are assets of their families. They should empower them," the environment adviser said.
Recalling the gender disparity that women face in the families and at workplaces, she said: "No matter what position women reach in life, the higher the position becomes, the more structural barriers emerge (against them)."
Rizwana, also the water resources adviser, said women are not being exempted from this discriminatory behaviour in society.
Stressing the need for creating positive perception about women to create a prosperous nation, she said families must come forward first towards women's empowerment and they should stand by their women as a shield in any crisis.
The adviser said if the families do not stand by women, it becomes difficult for the state to ensure the women's safety and security. "If the families encourage women, the state can also support them," she added.
Observing that women's participation has increased in various sectors of the country, she said this scenario could not be imagined a few years ago.
Claiming that the women's empowerment continues to thrive in the country, Rizwana said those are more visible now as women's resistance has gone up.
"The higher women go up, the more structural resistances will become hard for them. Only a change in patriarchal attitudes can enhance the psychological structure of women and children," she added.
Underscoring the need for having gender policy in all educational institutions, the adviser said girls must be protected if they face sexual harassment at schools and at the same time, perpetrators should be punished.
Asking the women not to compromise on the question of their empowerment, she said in workplaces, women should go ahead keeping pace with men.
The country's development cannot be achieved by leaving women and children behind, she said, citing the instances of women mountaineers Wasfia Nazreen and Nishat Majumder who conquered the Everest.
"We need to break the negative mindset (against women)," the environment adviser said, adding that the women should not be taken as the sex object.
"So, the families must play a supportive role in teaching their boys to respect women and girls from early age and to grow up with a positive view," Rizwana said.
