Private Sector Housing in Bangladesh
(From page-3)

businessmen, apartments are not being constructed in a way that would ensure a sustainable environment in the city. The Finance Minister suggested planned use of the limited land and affordable price of apartments for the middle and lower income people. He said, if the real estate companies sincerely pay the taxes, the Government may even consider further reduction of tax rate.
REHAB President Dr Tawfiq M Seraj, said that a long-term strategy should be devised for meeting the future housing needs. Commenting on the reported irregularities on the part of the Real Estate companies in paying taxes, Mr Seraj termed the existing system of tax collection as non-transparent and complicated and because of the complexities, every year the government is deprived of a huge amount of revenues. He also demanded fixation of tax and other charges for apartments in line with the price of per square foot in order to ensure transparency and generate more revenues.
The dialogue was participated, among others, by Awami Leage lawmaker Mr Faruk Khan, MP, Mr M Zamir, Former Secretary & Ambassador, Dr Sarwar Jahan of BUET, Architect Abdus Salam, Lt. Col. (Retd.) Mahtabuddin Ahmed, Chairman, Property Development Ltd., Engr. Md Akramuzzaman, Director, Eastern Housing Ltd., Mr Mukarram Husain Khan, Managing Director, BRAC Concord Lands Ltd., and Architect Tanwir Nawaz, Managing Director, Urban Habitat Ltd.

Under the CPD-UNFPA programme on Population and Sustainable Development, a dialogue titled Workplace Environment for Women: Issues of Harassment and Needs for Interventions was held on March 5, 2003 at the CIRDAP Auditorium, Dhaka. Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana attended the dialogue as the Chief Guest with Mr Syed Manzur Elahi, a former adviser to the Caretaker Government and a member of the CPD Board of Trustees, in the chair.
The speaker noted that while globalisation has opened up employment opportunities for women yet in many parts of the world, particularly in the least developed areas, it has paved the way for multifarious harassment and torture. A greater portion of the women in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), garments industries and other private enterprises over the last few years in Bangladesh, are still subjected to harassment by both co-workers and employers. Terming the present scenario "very frustrating", the speakers called for formulating policy guidelines bringing the perpetrators to books.
The keynote presenter, Dr Dina M Siddiqi noted that women workers in Asia are typically employed in a narrow range of occupations that are characterised by high job insecurity, low pay and bad working conditions, as well as low status and minimal bargaining power. According to her Study, about 38 per cent of female workers of non-EPZ garment industries were physically harassed and around 30 per cent of garment workers reported having heard of sexual assault at their workplaces. It also revealed that 40 per cent of all workers and 80 per cent of non-EPZ garment workers reported the use of sexual expletives at their work places.
Former Minister Rabeya Bhuiyan mentioned that any discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace would remain meaningless unless there is a commonly articulated code of conduct for both the employers and employees. Eminent cultural personality Sara Zaker observed that in most of the factories workers, male or female, are unaware of their obligations and privileges and the lack of awareness has turned them vulnerable to multidimensional shocks- sexual harassment is one form of such shock.

Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana making her point at the dialogue on Workplace Environment for Women. Dr Dina M Siddiqi, Mr Syed Manzur Elahi, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya and Mr Asaduzzamam Noor, MP are also seen in the picture.

Woman's rights activisit Ms Maleka Begum thought that harassment of women in the workplace could never be stopped until equitable numbers of women serve at the upper echelon of the companies. Ms Nazneen Begum of Ain O Shalish Kendro (ASK) suggested that a complaint cell should be set up compulsorily at every governmental, autonomous and private sector offices.

The Chief Guest Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana said, "We shall have to develop and change the attitude towards women. Women should come forward and protect themselves for their own interests". She also said that as the participation of female labour force in various fields was increasing dramatically in Bangladesh, it was essential to create awareness and forge unity among them.

The session chair Syed Manzur Elahi thanked the participants for their innovative ideas as regards restoring good environment in the workplace and hoped that many such dialogues on the issue in future would contribute to the process of awareness building.