The Government of Bangladesh ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations against Women and passed the Women Development Policy 2011 to ensure strong protection for women and girls’ rights. Yet, women and girls in Bangladesh are deprived of their Constitutional rights in accessing justice and gender-based violence is a very common phenomenon.

Unacceptable social attitude among a section of the society and officials towards women and girls, weak enforcement of women-friendly laws and regulations, slow but insufficient judicial protection, inadequate social protest and protection, poor family environment, poor and inadequate intervention from human rights defenders (HRDs) and weak voice of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) are the major impediments in ensuring women’s and girls’ rights.

The Programme for Supporting Human Rights Defenders Working for Women’s and Girls’ Rights in Bangladesh’ is a three-year project started its activities in January 2018. It is funded by the European Union and implemented by the News Network in partnership with Udayankur Seba Sangstha (USS) in the rural areas of eight districts along the Indo-Bangla international border namely Satkhira, Jessore, Rajshahi, Niphamari, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat and Kurigram.

Objectives: The overall objective of the action is to provide support to Women Human Rights Defenders and/or Human Rights Defenders (W/HRDs) working for women’s and girls’ rights in Bangladesh, which is specifically address to;

• To recognise and promote the role of WHRDs in the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to protect them addressing the challenges, risks and threats that they may face;
• To support and protect WHRDs at risk due to their work for the promotion and protection of the full enjoyment of women’s and girls’ rights;

Targeted beneficiaries:

Media professionals of print, electronic and social medias including potential young women journalists and rural media gatekeepers-editors, news editors and executive editors, rural journalists and creative women journalists;

Rural civil society organisations’ leaders, both male and female; and rural religious leaders who are working to promote women’s and girls’ rights;

 

Supported by UNESCO

The media in Bangladesh is aggressive and vibrant. Journalists often play a bold role in exposing corruption and wrong-doings in the society. Their brave work earns them public admiration, but it also exposes them to threats on their life, harassment and insecurity.  Safety of journalists has become a concern in the country. Incidents of attacks on journalists are rising.

 

According to media rights groups at least 30 journalists and bloggers have been killed in such attacks since the country’s independence in 1971. In most cases killers and attackers went unpunished. Even in most cases the motive of killing and attacks was not clear.

The violence against journalists and media has increased globally.  International media monitoring organisation Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has identified 20 deadliest countries for journalists.  Bangladesh is one of these countries, where freedom of press and freedom of expression is under serious threat. Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) notes the ‘dangerous situation’ for journalists in Bangladesh, ranking the country 146^th among 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index 2017.

UNESCO released “New Fronts, Brave Voices: Press Freedom in South Asia 2016-17” on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2017. The report prepared by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) documents the “deteriorating press freedom situation, media rights issues, and national and regional activities to empower journalists to confront the challenges relating to press freedom of South Asia over the past year”.

Across South Asia, journalism has always been a tough profession. Its diverse terrain for media workers is ever challenged by the complex socio-cultural and political dynamic that also weaves it together. Out in the field, in local and regional beats as well as on high-profile political trails, journalists and media workers are too often exposed to the dangers this volatile mix presents. As the numbers of incidents recorded by the IFJ and its affiliates show, they are exposed to threats, violence or intimidation in a bid to silence. For too many, it takes the highest price – life.

Almost 90% of the victims in 2014 – 2015 were local journalists, confirming a trend observed throughout the last decade.

 

To face the challenges against press freedom and freedom of expression and defend those News Network, with the support of UNESCO, has undertaken the project for safety of journalists aiming to make them aware about the safety measures and also ensure a constructive engagement of concerned stakeholders and people_ individuals or organizations _ involved in advocacy to create a safe field for journalists and media houses.

 

Development objectives

 

• To strengthen the environment for press freedom, journalistic safety and/or self-regulation, for on-line and/or off-line media, through favorable policies and/or practices.
• To promote good governance and transparency by developing pluralistic media institutions, including community media, and/or by building media professional capacities.

 

The project will give focus to (i) Build awareness of safety measures when reporting from danger zones; (ii) Analyse cases of violence against journalists to examine how they might have been avoided; (iii) Educate journalists about the risks of investigative journalism and political reporting; (iv) Educate journalists about existing resources in Bangladesh for journalists facing hostility; (v) Train journalists to report on crimes against journalists. The initiative shall also establish a peer network for monitoring crimes against journalists and advocating journalists’ safety in Bangladesh.

 

News Network believes that the safety of journalists must be addressed both as a human rights issue in itself and as a foundation for press freedom. The journalists who will participate in this programme will continue the initiative as part of their professional and social responsibility. They will share their learning with their colleagues and friends within their organizations and outside. The peer network / advocacy group is expected to monitor and promote the safety of journalists well beyond the project period.

Supported by: Supported by: The United Nations Democracy Fund

For a nation to live with dignity and honour, it is important to uphold democracy and human rights. Bangladesh constitution also endorses these principles. But the country still has to go a long wa

in the establishment of democracy and ensuring human rights enshrined in the constitution.

 

We believe multidimensional initiatives are necessary for strengthening democratic values and principles.

Media has an important role to play to make a society truly democratic and respectful to human rights. In democracy, media is considered the fourth branch (fourth estate) of the government. It plays this role by monitoring the policies and activities of the government, g

and respectful to human rights. In democracy, media is considered the fourth branch (fourth estate) of the government. It plays this role by monitoring the policies and activities of the government, government leaders and politicians. It ensures people’s access to information so they can make informed choice, an essential ingredient of democracy.

With this understanding News Network has launched the project titled, ‘Rural Media Development for Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in Bangladesh’, supported by United Nations Democracy Fund ( UNDEF). In Bangladesh where journalists and media workers, especially in rural districts, lack in proper knowledge and applications of democratic values, this project is relevant and a timely initiative. It is aiming to enhance knowledge and capacity of rural journalists and CSO/NGO activists in greater understanding and application of issues related to democracy and promotion of human rights of the citizens.

Launched in December 2014, the project will continue for next two years. It will cover 12 districts of the country. It has number of activities and most of those are focused on rural areas, where people are less aware of their rights. Violence and violation of human rights issues are reportedly higher in rural areas than in urban society.

The project’s overall goal: Improve respect for democracy and human rights in Bangladesh society.

Objectives: To improve the media and civil society organization’s ability in rural areas to report on democracy and human rights issues and thereby raising public awareness of their rights.

Project strategy: It has been observed that most of the journalists working in remote districts and sub-districts have inadequate understanding and skills to write quality reports. CSO activists and staff officials also suffer a lack of proper understanding and capacity in information gathering and sharing, campaign and advocacy on these issues. So, many serious incidents of human rights violation often go unreported.

To overcome these challenges the project aims at implementing the following initiatives:

• Training and sensitizing rural journalists on democracy and human rights issues; The activity seeks to improve the rural journalist’s professional skills and adequate knowledge about democracy and human rights and their violation. It is expected that their reports will help raise general public awareness and opinion.
• Commissioning items to train journalists;
• Reporting completions for trained journalists;
• Media training for CSO staff; Local CSOs have limited capacity to report and provide an analysis of the human rights situation. Their understanding of the values of democracy and human rights is limited. The project strategy is to develop their skills to better report, conduct case studies, investigations and prepare press releases, circulars, campaign materials and templates. It will also build their expertise to share information with journalists and social media.
• Network building among trained journalists and CSOs; Interactive meetings will be organized among the trained journalists and CSO officials and workers in each project district to improve information sharing and cooperation among these groups working to defend democracy and human rights issues.
• Network events for editors of local media houses; To arrange workshop with the editors to get better understanding on democratic and human rights issues and the effective role and responsibility of local media houses.
• Website advocacy for promoting democracy and human rights; The News Network will develop a website to publish the issues related to the project and provide materials to a wider audience (including project outputs such as training materials, texts and tools, the reports of trained journalists and CSOs).

These are the ways we seek to work for promoting democracy and human rights so the citizens of Bangladesh become more aware about their basic rights and how to get those in building a better life.