BRAC University holds seminar on women’s safety
Student club Peace Café and the Counseling and Wellness Centre of BRAC University, in collaboration with platform Cyber Support for Women and Children (CSWC), recently organized a seminar titled “Accelerating Women’s Safety: International Women’s Day”.
Held at the university’s Merul Badda campus in Dhaka celebrating International Women’s Day of 8 March 2025, the seminar focused on addressing the challenges and ways to ensure women’s safety in Bangladesh.
Inaugurating the program, Dr. David Dowland, Registrar, emphasized the crucial role of students and youth in driving social change. He expressed confidence in the determination of young minds to create a safer environment for women and children.
Manzoor Hasan OBE, Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, focused on three key points. They include alarming statistics of violence against women and children in Bangladesh, multifaceted challenges in addressing this issue, and strategies to increase youth engagement in combating violence and promoting gender equality.
Tania Sharmin, Planning, Monitoring, and Reporting Analyst, UN Women, underscored the importance of strengthening grassroots feminist movements and increasing women’s political representation. She called for intensifying efforts to ensure women’s safety, promoting equality in decision-making, and enhancing digital inclusion.
Safina Binte Enayet, Counselor, Counseling and Wellness Centre, expressed concern over rising incidents of violence against women and children, highlighting the severe short-term and long-term psychological harm it causes. She urged all to jointly work towards eliminating inequality and being more mindful of others while prioritising mental health.
Manisha Biswas, Senior Officer (Legal and Research), Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, which runs the CSWC platform, explained definitions and elements of cyber harassment and highlighted legal measures that victims could take.
Minhaj Aman, Research Coordinator, Digitally Right, which describes itself as a private company offering critical knowledge and solutions regarding information flows, highlighted an alarming rise of technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Bangladesh. Pointing out a lack of evidence-based research on this issue within the country, he urged prioritizing conducting studies to generate more credible data.
Sadat Hasan, Founder and President, Cyber Teens, shed light on their initiative for enhancing online safety for teenagers through its helpline, educational programs, and community outreach.
Tahsina Rahman, Joint Director, Student Life, BRAC University, and Sorna Rani Das, President, Peace Café, also spoke on the occasion.
