To prevent violent extremism in the country, gender equality must be ensured, said speakers.
They delivered the remarks at a two-day workshop on “Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE): Approaches on Gender Mainstreaming” organized in technical cooperation with the Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) Indonesia, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
The two-day workshop was held on December 17-18 and organized by private organization ANTAR at Brac Centre Inn in Mohakhali, Dhaka.
Speakers participating in the workshop also said that women's capacity building and participation in the prevention of violent extremism should be emphasized and public awareness should be given. For this reason, they called upon public-private institutions and civil society to work together.
It was informed that in order to prevent violent extremism, the capacity and knowledge of civil society should be increased for gender equality. At the same time, gender equality measures must be linked to ongoing work to counter violent extremism. As a result, a peaceful society can be established through increased communication and their strong role in civil society in countering violent extremism in Bangladesh.
The workshop highlighted various laws, instruments, activities, key drivers, challenges, and exemplary good practices on violent extremism. The participants commented that there is a need for more in-depth research, study and knowledge exchange on these issues.
Emranul Huq Chowdhury, founder and principal adviser of ANTAR, gave a welcome speech at the workshop. He said that this workshop will play an important role in increasing the capacity of civil society and developing skills, information and research and taking action to counter violent extremism.
Development Consultant and Policy Analyst Shahin Ara Begum highlighted the areas of work and challenges of gender mainstreaming and civil society engagement on violent extremism.
CourtesyDr M Abdul Aziz, director general of BIIT and country representative of IIIT (USA)'s Bangladesh office, highlighted the religious context, mainstreaming and involvement of women, and the role of religious leaders in countering violent extremism.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) AKM Hafiz Akhter in his speech highlighted the various steps and efforts taken by the government to prevent violent extremism and emphasized on the important role and involvement of civil society.
Mamun Abdullah, Head of News of private satellite channel Independent Television, highlighted the need for the government, civil society and the media to work together to ensure the active participation and empowerment of women in preventing violent extremism.
In the speech of the chief guest at the end of the workshop, the former Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Md. Abdul Karim said, "Violent extremism cannot be completely eradicated. But control and prevention are possible through concerted efforts. And in this case equal participation of men and women is very important. Government, non-governmental organizations, civil society, families, media all have to work together in this regard."
Abdullah Al Mohiuddin, Deputy Director of ANTAR, also spoke on the first day of the workshop. Others speakers on the first day included Vice Chancellor of Global University Bangladesh Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman, Assistant Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Sarder M. Asaduzzaman, Research Analyst of UNDP Bangladesh Faisal Bin Majid, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Law of East West University Md. Pizuar Hossain, Coordinator of Social Aid Ishak M. Sohel and Executive Director of APON Foundation Aftabuzzaman. It was attended by representatives of civil society, media, youth community and various non-governmental organizations.
Notably, ANTAR is a national level non-governmental organization and micro-credit institution - the aim of which is to establish a peaceful, fair and hunger-free world.