Mahila Anjuman, the women's organization of Rajarbagh Darbar Sharif, has urged the government not to make photographs mandatory for National Identity Cards (NID) for Muslim women who choose to wear veils.
The organization conveyed their demands to the government in a press conference held on Monday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) office.
At the press conference, the women's organization made three key demands to the government: exemption of photographs from the proposed National Identity Registration Act 2023, implementation of fingerprint-based identification and attendance across all sectors, including offices, courts, schools, and if any assistance is required including seeing the face, the assistance of women should be arranged by women in separate places.
The organization advocated using fingerprints and iris scans for accurate identification and establishing the authenticity of NID cards.
They proposed replacing photographs with fingerprints across various sectors of the state. This will help to enhance security and preserve the NID system's integrity.
The organization considered it a violation of human rights to exclude women from obtaining NIDs solely based on their refusal to show their faces in photographs.
Currently, NIDs are essential for accessing 22 fundamental and civic rights in the country.
However, by denying consent only for showing their face, countless women are being deprived of obtaining NIDs, they claimed.
With the responsibility of NID under the new registration law transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the women's organization hoped that the ministry will give special attention to their issues.
