Home ›› 07 Nov 2022 ›› Corporate
Rights activists have called for taking necessary steps for ensuring education and employment facilities for the people with disabilities (PwDs), who comprise over 9 per cent of the total population.
They made the call at a seminar titled ‘Marrakesh Treaty Accession Celebration and Way Forward’ at the auditorium of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics at Agargaon in the capital on Saturday, said a press release.
Visually Impaired People’s Society (VIPS) and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) jointly organised the event.
KM Khalid, the state minister for cultural affairs, attended the seminar as the chief guest, while Muhammad Jafor Iqbal, an eminent educationist, was the guest of honour.
In his speech, the minister lauded the initiative, hoping that all concerned would work together for improving the condition of PwDs.
Supreme Court lawyer Musherraf Hossain Mazumder, Adviser of VIPS, said PwDs are now taking to the path of suicide due to lack of employment. He urged authorities concerned to take necessary steps for solving their unemployment problem.
Md Saidul Huq, Executive Director of Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO), underscored the need on building a rights-based discrimination free society, which can ensure the rights of all the people.
In her address, Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said that it is the constitutional duty of the State to uphold the rights of backward section of people.
The event was told that Bangladesh has ratified the ‘Marrakesh Treaty’ of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to facilitate access to published works for the blind, visually impaired or people with print disabilities.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Md Mustafizur Rahman presented the documents of the ratification of the Treaty to WIPO Director General Daren Tang at WIPO headquarters in Geneva on Sept 26. By ratifying the treaty, Bangladesh became the 116th nation in the world to sign the agreement to improve the access to books and reading for the country’s people with disabilities.
Most of the PwDs are poor, so they need support for improving they condition. Bangladesh would not be able to achieve its SDGs if they remain neglected, as SDGs mainly focused on leaving none behind, they added.
Chaired by Nasrin Jahan, President of VIPS; Daud Mia, Registrar, Copy Rights Division; Muhammad Anwar Ullah, Joint Secretary, Planning Commission; Jafor Raja Chowdhury, former Registrar, Bangladesh Copy Rights Division; Mansur Ahmed Chowdhury, founder president of VIPS; among others, spoke at the event.
