Upazila Women's Affairs Officer’s Office has been running without Chief Officer for three months in Ishwardi, Pabna. As a result, women’s affairs activities in the upazila have come to a standstill.
Immediate measures are not being taken to prevent child marriage and violence against women and children. Office work is also not going well. Some activities are being carried out by going to the district women’s affairs office and signing important files.
On April 2014, Shahina Sultana joined as the Upazila Women’s Affairs Officer in Ishwardi. After seven and a half years, she was transferred to Lalpur Upazila on November 28 last year. Since then, Ishwardi office has been running without any officer.
According to sources, the important Women’s Affairs Office of the upazila works to prevent child marriage, abuse of women and children. Apart from this, programs are taken to search for women who have contributed in various activities and to assist them. Although there are programs at the field level for holding seminars and discussions on prevention of child marriage and violence against women and children almost every day, those programs are not carried out due to lack of officers. The responsibility is being fulfilled only by recording these activities on paper.
According to office sources, the employees of the office are working at their will as there are no officers. There has been stagnation in the work. An official said on condition of anonymity that all field activities were closed due to lack of officers. In particular, despite allegations of child marriage, women and child abuse, no immediate action is being taken. As a result, activities related to women and children of the upazila have come to a standstill.
Irene Jahan, deputy director of the Pabna office for women's affairs, told Bangladesh Post on her mobile phone that, “ The activities were somewhat disrupted due to the absence of Ishwardi Upazila women's affairs officer.
The matter has been reported to a senior official. Hopefully new officers will join Ishwardi soon.”
