'Narir Dake Maitree Jatra' declaration calls for equal rights, social dignity
Women workers, students, teachers, cultural workers, professionals, and people from various walks of life have joined the programme with the slogan 'We are for equality'
Highlights
- Call for equal rights, dignity, and safety for women
- Key demands- 33% political representation, legal reforms, and protection for the marginalised
- Recognition of invisible labour, and rights for sex workers, LGBTQ+ people, and CHT communities
- Condemned gender violence and government inaction
- Vowed to continue the fight for justice and democracy — no retreat, no silence
- Criticised govt for failing to implement reform commission's recommendations
"Narir Dake Maitree Jatra", a march programme urging equal rights for women, took place in front of the National Parliament at the capital's Manik Mia Avenue today (16 May).
With colourful banners and placards bearing various messages, the march proceeded around 5pm from Manik Mia Avenue to Khamarbari road to Farmgate to Indira road and concluded back at Manik Mia Avenue around 6:30pm.
Participants were chanting various slogans demanding equal rights for women. These slogans highlight issues such as women's rights, dignity, safety, labour rights, opposition to fascism, and also solidarity with the Palestinian people.
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With the slogan "We are for equality", women workers, students, teachers, cultural workers, professionals, and people from various walks of life participated.
The programme started at around 3:30pm with the national anthem. People were seen coming to Manik Mia Avenue to participate in this programme with various banners and placards since 2pm.
Various organisations have expressed solidarity with this programme, including Bangladesh Chhatra Union, Revolutionary Student Solidarity, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, Hill Women's Federation, Adivasi Union, Garments Workers' Liberation Movement, and Science Movement Platform.
According to the organisers, this programme is mainly being held to demand equal rights for women. Additionally, the programme is being held to express strong protest against neglect, contempt, and violence against women.
Soon after the event started, organisers read out a declaration with the central theme of a united feminist and social justice movement emerging in the wake of last year's July Uprising. The declaration asserts a collective demand for a democratic, just, and inclusive society, where all people — especially women and marginalised communities — are guaranteed dignity, freedom, and rights.
It positions the ongoing women-led movement as part of a historic continuum of struggles for justice in Bangladesh, including the 1971 Liberation War, anti-rape protests, indigenous movements, and labour activism.
The document expressed strong concern over continued patriarchal violence and systemic exclusion, even after the uprising. It highlights the persistent threats women face: online harassment, sexual violence, moral policing, and political exclusion. Despite forming a Women Affairs Reform Commission, the government failed to uphold its own recommendations, allowed slander against its members, and remained silent in the face of coordinated misogynistic backlash.
It also condemns structural inequalities across sectors — such as wage disparity, lack of land ownership, gender-based violence, legal disenfranchisement, and neglect of gender-diverse communities.
The declaration makes it clear that the rights of women, minorities, and workers are non-negotiable. It stresses that no government or political party can ignore or suppress these demands without betraying the democratic values and aspirations of the people. It also calls for recognition of invisible labour, protection of sex workers and LGBTQ+ individuals, and action against military and institutional abuse in places like the Chattogram Hill Tracts.
Concrete demands include:
- Government action against violence and propaganda targeting the Women Affairs Reform Commission.
- Equal political participation (at least 33% women candidates in elections).
- Legal reforms for land rights, marital equality, and protection of reproductive freedoms.
- Urgent investment in education, health, and housing for marginalised groups.
- Recognition and protection of sex workers, gender-diverse individuals, and migrant workers.
The declaration ended with a powerful call to resist fear and silence.
The authors state they will not stop fighting until a just and equitable Bangladesh is realised. They vow to monitor the positions of all political parties on women's issues and hold power accountable. Their final pledge is firm: they will not be silenced, they will not retreat, and their struggle for justice and equality will continue.
