An orientation meeting under BRAC’s ‘Shikha’ project was held on Tuesday at the Rajshahi District Education Office to promote environments free from gender-based violence, bullying, and sexual harassment. The session aimed to strengthen prevention and support mechanisms and ensure safer public and private spaces.
The meeting was presided over by District Education Officer Zayedur Rahman and attended by the Research Officer (Education), Upazila Secondary Education Officers from nine upazilas, academic supervisors, BRAC district representatives, civil society members, government officials, head teachers, journalists, and NGO representatives.
The ‘Shikha’ project, a four-year initiative funded by the European Union, has been implemented in nine upazilas since February last year. It conducts awareness programs in 60 secondary schools across the district and strengthens integrated prevention and support mechanisms to ensure safe environments for women and girls in public spaces, workplaces, public transport, garment factories, digital platforms, and local communities.
During the open discussion, participants shared strategies for preventing sexual harassment in educational institutions, addressing child marriage and bullying, improving reporting and response systems, and transforming schools into violence-free workplaces. Speakers highlighted the importance of preparing risk maps for students’ routes around schools and making sexual harassment prevention committees more active and effective.
The session was moderated by Habibur Rahman, Technical Manager of the project. Other speakers included Technical Officer Mita Rani Sarker, Road Safety Representative Pankaj Kumar Biswas, Project Officers Motaleb Hossain and Afroza Khatun, Community Volunteers Shakil Ahmed, Ahnaf Tahamid, and Sohanur Rahman, and BLAST representative Soma Islam.
Implemented in collaboration with local government bodies, civil society members, public representatives, and local organizations, the project focuses on secondary schools and madrasas. Its main objective is to raise public awareness against sexual harassment and gender-based violence, establish effective prevention and support mechanisms, and strengthen institutional structures for safer communities.
