Religious Affairs Adviser Dr AFM Khalid Hossain on Thursday said that the doors of his ministry are always open to both male and female journalists.
“Perhaps an overenthusiastic third party could have done this. The responsibility for this does not fall on me in any way. I attended their event as a guest," he said responding to a question over the allegation that a woman journalist was barred from entering the Qawmi Entrepreneurs conference.
He mentioned that he does not know anything about the incident and the organising authorities are also unaware of it.
"Yesterday, (Wednesday) the Qawmi Entrepreneurs Conference took place at the China Friendship Conference Center, where I was present for only an hour. I was unaware about the matter,” he said.
“There were many journalists at the event, and a female journalist posted about it on Facebook which was sent to me. I could not speak to her late at night, and today there has been further discussion about the Facebook post," he added.
Khalid further said he received a written statement from the founder of Qawmi Entrepreneurs where they clarified the matter.
They said no one involved in organising the event is responsible for it and they sought apology if something like this happened without their knowledge, he said.
The Qawmi Entrepreneurs claimed that they have never obstructed women in their work or news reporting and they made it clear in their statement that they will not do so in the future, said Khalid.
The adviser said that the organisers addressed the matter clearly and he believes it should be stopped here.
"This matter was discussed in the Advisory Council meeting," he said, adding that the meeting also addressed women's empowerment.
"There should be no form of disrespect or dishonor towards women. I was asked about discrimination against female journalists, and I conveyed the same message there."
